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Americans may be all over the place politically.

We come from many backgrounds.

There are huge differences in levels of education and wealth.

But we are consistent in one area.

When crisis strikes, we are universal in our criticism that government isn't doing enough fast enough.

Be it hurricane or war, you can count on Americans to complain that government isn't bailing them out as soon as it should.

The latest example is the crisis in Lebanon, where just a day or two after Israel and Hezbollah started trading shells, there was an outcry from U.S. citizens there lamenting a slow and disorganized evacuation.

First of all, why a person is in Lebanon to begin with is their own business. But when you go, you have to know war and terrorism are real possibilities.

Second, the U.S. embassy staff in Lebanon has a variety of assignments. Their jobs include promoting trade between the two countries, increasing educational opportunities and coordinating with the Lebanese military. They're not travel agents.

Third, the U.S. doesn't maintain a fleet of rescue ships in every port in every potential trouble spot on the globe.

When the crisis begins, ships dispatched to ferry people out of the region start moving. They don't magically appear in port. Large ships take time to get from point A to point B, especially when they have to navigate a blockade. Helicopter evacuations make for good TV, but they aren't a practical answer when thousands of people want to get out.

Hezbollah kidnapped Israeli soldiers on July 12. Israel bombed the Beirut airport on July 13. On July 19, the first large shipload of Americans left for Cyprus. It took about five days to mobilize the large-scale evacuation. As of Monday, 12,000 Americans had been evacuated from Beirut and the evacuation of foreigners was winding down.

Similarly, it takes a few days to mobilize a large-scale relief effort after a hurricane.

Disaster planners implore people to be prepared to be self-sufficient for 72 hours after a storm.

And yet every time a hurricane hits, the complaints that the government response is too slow to start even before the last feeder band of rain moves through.

Government crisis response will never be instantaneous, whether the crisis is in Lebanon or South Florida. Personal responsibility may be out of vogue, but it's something we can't escape.

• • •

The roots of conflict in the Middle East go back thousands of years.

There are elements on both sides who would rather have war than co-exist with their enemies.

But extremists aside, where rest the sentiments of the people in this war-scarred region?

Recent political developments offer a clue. The people of Israel, by benefit of electing a government willing to cede control of the West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinian Authority — land for peace — have revealed their intentions.

The people of Palestine and southern Lebanon, by electing to power elements of Hamas and Hezbollah, have revealed theirs.