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There is a case to be made that nobody dives straight into Hell without a little prior warning.

For example, we've learned that mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui didn't sprout from Zeus' head, guns blazing, onto the Virginia Tech campus. His frightening words and even more dangerous behaviors long preceded his vile finale, and doctors, lecturers and students sounded alarms.

So what prevented definitive action - putting Cho away, let's say - from being taken? I have a theory: fear.

Cho's story isn't about needing more gun laws or more hugs for troubled souls or whatever surreal solutions big media and pop sociology swirl together. It's a tale about us - you and me - and how we can't trust ourselves to rise up against evil anymore.

So while we lament the genuinely wretched loss of 32 lives - 33 with Cho added to the mix - we should examine ourselves and identify what we're so afraid of.

Little more than a week ago we learned that middle school children - yes, children - caused more than $30,000 worth of damage at the Albuquerque Aquarium. Officials moved immediately to ban John Adams Middle School from future biopark field trips, but they've since backed off that because, we're told, it would be wrong to punish all of the children.

Why? Why not force the decent kids and their parents to suffer the consequences as well? Chances are school officials and many of the parents know where problems lie.

The good people of Edgewood built a skateboard park to indulge their restless youths. Today it's a hotbed of vandalism, fights, drug use and other assorted maladies. Fine. Chain it up.

Once, we collectively believed not so much in the rule of law as in the social rule of order and decency. In essence, we were our brothers' keepers, and we didn't fear using that phrase. Today, we do.

We didn't fear telling someone talking in a movie to shut up, telling someone destroying property to stop or telling anyone and everyone that someone might truly be a danger to our lives. Today, we do.

We didn't fear standing against anti-social behavior. Today, we do.

There are a host of reasons for our resignation today, not the least of which is our fear of organizations and clever lawyers ready to pounce on us if we don't act like victims. It's easier not to get involved.

I'm not calling for vigilantism or advocating confronting someone with a gun. Sadly, by the time someone picks up a weapon, we've already failed each other.

Rather, I say we should unite as, well, adults, and stop asking lawmakers to provide our backbones.

We must reclaim order. Together. Because we're a little out of practice, let's start small. Next time a man or woman tells a talker to be quiet in a dark theater, let's rally to their side. Trust me, it all adds up.