Criticism of Government Response a Good Thing?

Has anyone thought that the criticism of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina's devastation, or any other criticism, is a good thing? Has it not stepped up the pace? Has it not made people more mindful of what their responsibilities are? On our jobs, when we know we're being evaluated on our performance, does it not cause us to examine our actions? During this tragedy I've seen many messengers shot and vilified because they dared to criticize. I think that people forget that speaking out against our government when we believe that it's wrong is one of the things that we say that we stand for.