Moments of Inspiration

Fire of Liberty
Peggy Noonan had a great piece over at OpinionJournal (E-Mail Registration Required) on the various moments of inspiration that have emerged during the rescue effort following the aftermath of Karina. Here's a sample of Peggy's wonderful writing:

It happens to be my (perhaps idiotic) hunch that everyone identifies with some other person or people who play a role in the unfolding drama you see on your screen when a national catastrophe occurs. This may be one of the reasons such tragedies are so painful for people far away. They personalize a story by identifying, and that identification rattles them and pierces their detachment. When they say, "Did you see the guy who rappelled out of the helicopter and got the people off the roof?" I think they've imagined what it was like to be that man dropping onto the house as the waters raged.

Maybe you identify with the rescuers, or the rescued. Maybe you identify with a brave cop, or with the neighbor who picked up an axe and smashed through a roof to save a man in the attic. Or the TV producer who was clearly frightened of the crime around her but stood her ground on Canal Street and kept reporting by phone. Maybe you identify with the poor crazy mayor (sorry) or the famous "blithering idiot" FEMA director (sorry) or the tough cigar-chomping general.

Let me tell you the greatest moment I saw in all the coverage. It's the middle of the day on Thursday or Friday last week. The Army is arriving, or the Guard. A big green truck full of fresh-faced young men is cruising along a New Orleans street. Lt. Gen. Russell Honore happens to be standing there as the truck slows to make a turn. He looks up and yells at the kids on the truck, "Put those guns down!"

They're startled. They've been lurching along with their guns pointed upward as if they're ready for looters, as if their mission is protect life and property. Which of course it was, but they were kids, seemingly inexperienced, and they didn't seem to realize there were no looters around, just survivors of the storm, citizens gathered on a corner to watch the truck go by. Gen. Honore yells to the soldiers, "Put those guns down!" and immediately they all take their rifles and point them down at their feet, and ride on. And the little crowd on the corner burst into cheers. They just cheered and applauded this new presence of sanity in their city.

This is what leadership is, specific and discrete decisions that are right because they're human and full of common sense. You know someone's a looter because he's looting: rifles up. A peaceful citizen deserves respect: rifles down. I don't know if Gen. Honore is as great as they say. I hope he is. But he won my respect at that moment.

Aside from the rare outbreaks of violence and looting, It's rather interesting how the best of man seems to emerge during such intense times of a crisis. Once again, It's great to be born in America. No wonder so many people flock to these shores.