It's mind-boggling. Mind numbing. Beyond one's comprehension. And impossible not to think about this weekend.
An earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale. If a 1 on the scale represents a release of 1 unit of energy measured, the exponential nature of the scale means that a 9 represents 100,000,000 units of energy. Enough energy to shift the coast of Japan 8 feet. Enough energy to shift the earth's axis 4 inches (it did). And enough to create a wall of water 30 feet (10 meters) high along miles and miles of Japan's coastline.
We see the pictures, and video, shot from helicopters and planes. The water looks stream-like - a wide swath, flooding fields and streets, yet somehow benign and harmless - as if people could somehow walk through it to shelter and safety. Then we watch newly released video taken from those trapped in building and see the wall of water for what it is. A wall of death, washing away people, cars, houses, and in one case an entire train traveling up the Japanese coast.
The next day, we read of impending nuclear catastrophe. First at one reactor. Then two reactors in one plant. Then, possible, six reactors at multiple plants. Why? Why Japan? Why the only country in the world to have already suffered the devastation of nuclear devices, during World War II?
We search for meaning, we search for hope. We think of the embedded ironies - former enemies, we dropped the bomb on Japan. Now friends, and iron-bound partners in trade, we are the first to extend aid and the hand of friendship. And we warn our citizens not to travel there. In case of nuclear meltdown, the radiation released would cause a disaster on an unprecedented scale. Yet we have just read, in The Immortal Life... of radiation being used in hope of treating Henrietta Lacks all those years ago. Henrietta is long gone from this world, but her cells live on. Some of them, I would imagine, in laboratories in Japan. I suppose one of our citizens is, in some sense, already there. Would those HeLa cells survive this new calamity? Ironies.
Is there a reason? Was there a cause? It's our nature to try to make some sense out of this. Over zealous environmentalists have already claimed that climate change and global warming may have contributed to this disaster. The melting polar ice caps, they say, is shifting the weight on the earth's oceanic plates, causing an increase in tectonic (earthquake) and volcanic activity. Doubters of climate change have fired back: “This is not the first time earthquakes have been blamed by the Shamanistic, Magical-Thinking Left on the all-purpose Zeus-substitute of global warming” said one. The other side answers back: True, Japan sits on a subduction zone, where plates move past earth other, but climate change can be shown to lead to more tsunamis (although not on Friday's scale) that could impact the United States". The argument and the fight goes on.
Economists debate the disaster's impact on the Japanese economy, as well as our own ("There may be an increase in the sale of American cars if people question the availability of Japanese cars and parts".) Some pundits predict a decrease in the price of petroleum, as declining Japanese demand leads to an increase in supply. CNBC stock market commentator Larry Kudlow actually said that ""The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll and we can be grateful for that". Others have noted concern for Tokyo Disney World's safety (Disney World!!) as it is built on landfill, while other worry about............
This is madness. Insanity. Why the need to fight about causes? Why the need to over-analyze things? Why the need to focus on the material loss and cost of the disaster? Why do commentators need to compare it in magnitude to disasters of the past? "This is the worst earthquake Japan has experienced, and the fifth strongest since records were started to be kept in the 1860s...."
Somehow in our interconnected, app-driven, 4G world, we have lost sight of humanity. I saw a picture on CNN.com of a young child, of maybe 6 or 7 years. Surrounded by a team of physicians in radiation protective gear, his hands were outstretched, over his head, reaching toward the ceiling, as the well protected scientist/physician scanned his little body for exposure to radiation.
For me, it was like the moment Mary, ever stoic, viewed Henrietta Lacks in her coffin and glanced momentarily at her red painted toe nails. It was the moment I focussed on, and saw, the individual effected. I thought of the individuals standing without their homes, without drinking water, and possibly, without family members.
And I cried for the people of Japan.
(In response to ML's comment: there's no question to respond to. Respond to Japan. Respond to the ironies. Respond to the post. Anything that gets your mind making connections.)
10 comments:
I had difficulty understanding what the question was but I think I understand now. So I'll do my best.
We have lost sight of humanity. It's sickening and depressing to me that while millions are suffering from injury, loss, etc., we somehow manage to think of what GOOD can come out of this. Yes, gas prices are outrageous right now. It's also upsetting to me that a lot of people, along with me, were probably happy to read that this disaster could lower those prices. But how does that even work? As I was reading this blog about a disastrous tsunami, GOOD NEWS came out of it. I can't wrap my head around it but that is just how the world works. It's not making the best out of things, it's thinking about keeping the world spinning in an economic sense. But there is nothing we can do about that. It's the way our world works. As that young boy is being tested for exposure to radiation, we are thinking about our gas prices. Typical.
So... global warming or just "the way the earth was mapped out?" We ask these questions because, once again, it's our world. We have people in this world that are so passionate about these causes and issues that it is their JOB. We're human beings and we are curious. We want to know the facts. How did this happen? Could it happen to us? It's no question that we are killing our planet but could this disaster be our fault?
Sitting here and thinking about this, I cry too. It's completely absurd to me that our world must work this way. But it has to.
-Emotional Molly
The awful events that unfolded this weekend have shocked and worried the world. Japan reminds us of our worlds, fragility. We in todays societies have come to the point where we no longer have the face to face connections, the passer by on the street exchanges or the long phone conversations, that we did say ten years ago, due to the internet and text messaging and other commutation devices. This has created some emotional cold detachment, that we hardly notice on most days however it takes something so unimaginable as a 9.1 earthquake and a tsunami to shake us into our scenes. We have forgotten that we are breakable, that our buildings can collapses and even cities and counties as advanced as even Japan can be crushed but things that we as humans have NO CONTROL over. Something we as a species are Not adapt at accepting. With the nuclear reactors on the verge of exploding and spilling ungodly amounts of poison into the earth, it has had us awaken. Because not only was witnessing an allied country destruction eye opening, by showing us that even big powerful lands have a kryptonite, it also put our own country in harms way. This is going to be something that hopefully will be like the SARZ scare, and be a eye opener and help us identify weakness in our sysmtoms, bring us closer, and be a reminder to us, and then it will be ok in the end. But unfortunately the events that took place this weekend I think will stay with the world longer then we can even anticipate.
-Amelia
The first thing I thought of what that in World War 2 we bombed Japan. We brought that on them, but this, this is different (concerning the nuclear issue). Obviously the earthquake and tsunami are not Japans fault; however, there are a lot of risks when it comes to nuclear power and even though you can’t really prepare for a tsunami you have to think of the worst possible thing that could happen when dealing with nuclear energy. Something like this was bound to happen somewhere after three mile island and Chernobyl. Nuclear power is not that cheap and it is really risky if all the billions of dollars that had been put into nuclear power was put into a different form of energy then Japan would only have to worry about the earthquake and tsunami instead of a nuclear meltdown.
I think the effect of Japans predicament on our economy could maybe help us. If Japan cannot supply Toyotas and such then that is a fabulous opportunity for Ford and other American companies. It might help to make the US a little more self-reliant. The situation could also easily end up being the opposite. We could end up not being able to withstand demand and come close to an economic collapse.
We have lost sight of humanity. But maybe because we can admit that there is still hope? And could it be that because we have hope we still cling to some humanity? Our new technology makes it easier and easier to forget what humanity means. TV shows and movies take away from the gravity of certain situations. Our ability to communicate without seeing someone or hearing a voice allows us to say things we would not say to someone’s face. Not only that online we don’t hear tone so there are mix-ups and fights for no reason. But I think an important question is: is technology taking away our humanity or is our ability to create technology allowing us to ignore it?
In response to Molly: why does our world have to work that way? My entire belief system within this world is that anyone can change the world. Anyone can make a difference and I think believing that there is no way to change our world is losing hope and without that hope you do lose some humanity. Anyone can change the world and belief is in the core of that.
Though I never would think that a natural disaster is good but maybe one every now and again forces us to be reminded that we can be defeated. Other humans are not the biggest threat to human beings. We forget that we are not omnipotent; we are not in control and is some respect we have no control at all.
~Sydney
To me, the part of this article that reached me the most was the description of how we have lost our sense of humanity. The internet and TV has shown us so many images about war, atomic bombs, the holocaust, that we have been desensitized. It happens slowly, but it happens to everyone who sees this kind of stuff. I've seen so many horrible things like natural disasters that when I see images of Japan I need to stop and think. In order for me to comprehend something like this I need to imagine what it would be like to be standing in front of that wave, or floating on my roof 9 miles offshore.
I have heard a lot of people talking about the economical problems that this will cause. Yesterday I was in the store and while I was in line with a pack of gum I heard a man across the room talking about how "at least oil would be cheaper." I kind of stood there for a second and thought about what he just said. Images of 20th century history came into my head when someone presented the atomic bomb and talked about how radiation effects the human body. He must not have been thinking about the people who are trapped and dying while he's waiting for gas prices to go down.
It will be interesting to folllow this story and see how it all plays out. I hope for the best but there's nothing really that I can do.
Irony.
The word makes every human either smirk, cringe, or shake their head in confusion. Why are so many things in the world ironic? It happens so often in our world, it is almost as if it is a lesson directed towards humanity. Ironic things are around us every day: from a sign saying “We Are Committed To Excellense” to the HeLa cells that are probably drowning in water in Japan right now. Of course these two ironies are very different and there is much more at stake in the HeLa example, but there is this pattern of irony everywhere.
When I heard about Japan the first thing I asked my father was, “What is the death toll?” At that point, it was extremely unclear but now more numbers are showing up. Two days ago they predicted that the death toll is over 10,000 people. 10,000 people. They are just living their lives normally then all of the sudden they hear talk about a wave that will consume their home, family, and any goods they have. I can’t even imagine this situation. I try to think about Japan and send prayers to the innocent civilians; I try to understand what they are going through, but there is no way I can even come close.
Humans (especially Americans) are so engrossed with their own lives that I feel it becomes hard to connect with other parts of the world if one does not make a very large effort. I go about my day, worrying about the little things and dealing with my 1 a.m. bedtime, meanwhile there is a Japanese girl, who is my age, and out there that has lost everything. She doesn’t care about little things like the fact that track starts in a week or the countdown until the next break...she is living to survive.
It pains me that I can just go about my day normally and act as if everything is okay, when everything is not okay. But where does one draw the line? I cannot think about Japan or the starving kids in Africa every minute of my day because I AM living a different life. The “little things” such as track practice starting up; those little things make up my life. They are in my immediate community. I just believe that one cannot be so engrossed in their own community that they do not realize they are also citizens of the world. Casually glancing at the news and seeing pictures of the devastation does not help as much as talking about it (like this blog) and understanding where you stand in relation to the rest of the world.
I don’t know if I went off on a tangent, but like Mr. Engler said when we started these blog entries: “Just Write!” So I wrote. I wrote whatever came to mind. I hope that things in Japan start to clear up and that we can actually see hope for this country that has already had to deal with a huge amount of devastation.
While thinking about this blog, I looked up some pictures of Japan. I will try to attach the link if anyone wants to check them out. NOTE: Make sure you wait until the page has completely loaded. They are before and after pictures.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html
I hope this works..
Seeing all of the vidoes and pictures and hearing the stories on the news makes us realize how easy we really do have it. It makes us step back and criticize our complaints. We complain about the snow storms we get, but now we realize that really it's just a small inconvenience. It has really made a lot of people put things back into perspective.
When we first hear of the disaster we want to help as our first instinct, but we might now consider how this is going to affect us except for economically or financially. I honestly didn't expect it to affect me personally too much until my sister called me. Her boyfriend who is in the Navy got very short notice that this week he will be getting deployed to Japan to help with the releif efforts. It also affected me as my own boyfriend moved to Oregon as the tsunami surges were hitting the coast.
When you have something you can personally tie a disaster like this to, all of a sudden it affects you much more then you anticipated. I can only pray for the people and families in Japan, and wish them the best outcome possible.
-Marley
I think that we as a species are diseased because of the fact that we could look at something like this and think to ourselves: "well, at least gas prices are going down." This is a truly cold and inhuman response. Are the lives of thousands of people really worth a ten cent decrease in the price per gallon of gas? Of course not. I was talking with my dad when Mubarak stepped down. I said: this is probably going to make gas prices go up, isn't it? He responded by saying that he would gladly pay more for gas knowing that millions of people were now free from oppression, and I think that we should have the same sort of attitude in this situation, except that it is reversed.
I agree with Marley. It is easy for us as Americans and westerners to forget how much we have and how lucky we are. If we weren't so greedy and insensitive, maybe there would be more wealth to go around, but that's capitalism, as any rich person would say.
It is most certainly difficult these days to feel anything when we hear about these kinds of disasters. We are accustomed to seeing death and destruction because we watch movies and tv shows where people die all the time. But just because we have a reason doesn't make it ok. It's just how it is right now.
I am going to respectfully disagree with everything that has been said about losing our humanity in this crisis. It is not, as Ben said, a disease of the species that we are happy about lowered gas prices in the wake of this catastrophe. As a species, we have these things called emotions. They run deep within us and force us to act in the was that we do. When faced with the loss of human life on the scale that we have witnessed in Japan, there is very little that we an do to not let those emotions take over our lives.
But we do have a coping mechanism, we have the ability to set aside the emotions that drive us and think about the big picture. Ultimately, there is nothing that we can do if we give in to what you people are calling "humanity." What good is it for us to mope in our rooms overcome by sadness when people are dying? And how do you overcome sadness? You think about happy things, abou good things. And yes, good will come of this, pure and perfect good. We can learn from this event to try and make a safer future. We certainly have pause to reconsider nuclear energy and the dangers it poses. Most importantly though, people will give of themselves. Our real humanity will shine forth in our ability to help others and to give of oursleves selflessly. So yes, what happened in Japan was a tradgedy, nothin more and nothing less than sad. But we can't allow that sadness to rule our lives. If Japan is going to be able to pick itself and start anew, then we have to stop moping around bemoaning the end of the human race and of our humanity, only then will we be able to help them get back on their feet.
Post a Comment