It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.— Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities”Hurricane Harvey.Hurricane Katrina.Maybe it’s too soon to draw comparisons, but it’s hard resisting the urge to do so.Katrina and its subsequent flooding killed 1,245 people in August 2005. Failed levees and a mired evacuation plan devastated New Orleans in a storm surge that coursed as much as 12 miles inland. Property damage was set at more than $100 billion.Looting followed. Some residents had no choice — no food, no water, emergency relief slow in coming. There were reports of carjackings, murders, thefts and rapes. Most of these were discounted later as exaggerated or even fabricated amid panic.The inadequate responses from federal, state and local governments resulted in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael D. Brown and New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass. Other officials were harshly criticized, including New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and President George W. Bush.Twelve years later, New Orleans has not yet fully recovered. A population of 450,000 before Katrina plummeted to 208,000. Today the city has 391,000 inhabitants — many evacuees simply never returned.Maybe last week’s response to Hurricane Harvey in Houston demonstrates a lesson learned. Initial coverage reflects a spirit of cooperation, patience and goodwill that seemed altogether absent on the Mississippi Delta 12 years ago. It might be the lesson of Katrina’s devastation that spurs us this time around to dig deeply into our reserves of compassion and humanity — and our resources.By the way, can you believe Houston Texans player J.J. Watt, brother of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ J.J. Watt, raising more than $15 million in contributions for flood victims in a week? Watt started his online campaign eight days ago with an initial goal of $200,000.It’s understood that conditions in Houston could change abruptly. Government being what it is, there could be a snag or slowdown in relief or evacuations. The prevailing spirits of pluck and patience could sour with little warning. That has not happened yet. With good governing it doesn’t have to.And that might just be the take-away here. Good leaders learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Good leaders prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Good leaders make best use of the resources at hand and don’t blame others for the resources they don’t have.We live in a nation built on a tradition of choosing our leaders by majority election. Today marks the beginning of the political campaign season, and we residents of Butler have a weather crisis story fresh in our own memory.Our next election on Nov. 7 will be for municipal and state government offices, from city council and mayor in Butler to township supervisors in Cranberry.As we consider what the candidates say, let’s weigh their intentions and visions for what they are: their hopes for the best. But also consider their qualifications and experience in terms of the opposite end of the spectrum: how will they manage adversity? Are they prepared to lead us through the worst?Let’s hope we never have to find out, but let’s vote as if it is inevitable.