Colbert King:
Mother Nature delivered her own version of "shock and awe" on Monday, leaving the Gulf Coast with the kind of death and destruction that only America's worst enemies could applaud. Without firing a shot or dropping a bomb, Hurricane Katrina pulverized Mississippi, Louisiana and parts of Alabama, wreaking havoc on the lives of hundreds of thousands, as well as the nation's economy, for months to come.
But Katrina did more than lay waste to lives and property. She also taught us a few things about ourselves.
We now know, if we ever needed reminding, that our ranks are filled with humanitarians. They were in evidence in New Orleans, lifting stranded residents off rooftops, ferrying others in boats, delivering life-sustaining supplies, comforting the despondent.
Katrina also brought us the faces of the detestable -- the rabble who tear through the rubble, feeding off the property and misery of others: those for whom a decent society has no use.
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And outrage? It has its place. For that there are targets galore stretching from the New Orleans region to Washington. There will be plenty of time for fault-finding -- a task that we in Washington do oh so well. But not now. This is a time for action.
Katrina is a test for the nation, a critical examination for us all, public and private. That is unless you're inclined to sit this one out in the armchair and second-guess.
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