A City in Agony

All of America has stood transfixed with horror as New Orleans, a city poor in wealth but rich in history, has descended into chaos and anarchy. Like all catastrophes, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has brought out the best in humanity, but also the worst, as marauding mobs of rapists and thugs freely roam the wreckage of the flooded city. Rescue attempts to free those who have been trapped for days have been met with gunfire. All levels of government, until very recently, seemed to have been overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the disaster. Five days since Katrina made landfall, bodies still float in the streets, and thousands have yet to recieve aid. Each passing day seems to reveal more horrors. Like many Americans, I have watched these tragic events with a growing sense of outrage and shame.

Less than a month ago I wrote on the illusion of civilization found in many urban centers; now, like the homes of thousands of Gulf Coast residents, that illusion has been swept away by the impersonal forces of nature. The death throes of a city that was once the home of a half million souls provide a sober reminder of man's tenuous grip on civilization. The authorities should deal harshly with those who have taken advantage of the breakdown of civil order to indulge their own primitive lusts. Nothing is so demoralizing to a people--or so degrading to a society--than unchecked lawlessness.

As federal authorities struggle to cope with the devastation in New Orleans, I can't help but be reminded that there are other, more insidious forces in this world that wish to do us harm. I shudder to think what a terrorist attack would do to us right now.