I will begin by offering my
sympathy and condolences to the families of those we lost and those who are
still with us but struggling to survive. What happened was an act of pure evil
perpetrated by someone so vile that description is beyond words
I said that first because I want
you to know that I DO care about those who are suffering because of that horrific
occurrence.
But the hysterics have got to stop.
Television has learned to zero in
on the tragic and most of all on the people who are wide-eyed and on the verge
of hysteria. The media paints a picture of a coming apocalypse of nuclear
destruction, extremist behavior, poisoned food and economic collapse. They blow
these horrible events way out of proportion to gain ratings and internet
interest.
Perhaps I am sounding a little
too insensitive. What happened in Boston was indeed a tragedy and as I said
earlier my prayers go out to the victims.
But let’s also keep it in
perspective. In the grand scale of horrific events what happened in Boston isn’t
a world changer, it’s not going to affect the people of Boston in any long term
way.
Here’s what I mean.
The 2011 Japanese Tsunami killed
over 15,000 people; destroyed 130,000 buildings and caused a nuclear meltdown
of the Fukushima Power Plant. Damage was estimated at 235 billion, the costliest
natural disaster in world history.
What did the Japanese people do?
They did what they’ve always done. They buried their dead and immediately
starting rebuilding. There were no recriminations, no heartfelt searches for answers.
No bemoaning their fate. They know real horror. Their history notes that 200,000
were vaporized almost seven decades ago
The Indian Ocean
earthquake/tsunami killed over 230,000 people in fourteen countries. The
hardest hit being Indonesia with waves over 100 feet high. Which is comparable to
having a 10 story building racing toward you.
The Irish Potato Famine took over
1 Million lives
The 1918 Flu pandemic killed
between 35-70 MILLION people.
In China in 1931 floods from unending
rains during July and August
killed 4 MILLION
In India in 1984 The Bhopal Gas
tragedy killed between 10-16 thousand.
And stepping away from natural
disasters, the city of London was bombed for 57 consecutive days by Nazi
warplanes starting on September 7, 1940. After the 57 day onslaught, the
bombing still continued intermittently until May of 1941.
I could continue but my point has
been made. The world is and has always been a dangerous place filled with
disasters and disease. There is, and has always been, cruel and murderous
thugs. And we, as a people have allowed ourselves to become soft. We have
replaced personal responsibility with self-indulgent compassion. We are rapidly
degenerating into a gaggle of hysterical ninnies who become utterly useless when
tragedy strikes and decisive action must be taken.
I believe the present behavior of
the people of today would sicken our ancestors who muscled through plagues,
world wars and natural disasters. Let’s take a page from their playbook and
instead of trying to ‘understand’ and ‘look for answers’ we focus all our
attention on finding the person or person responsible and hang them from the lampposts
that stand near the blast sites.
And in the meantime, remember to make time for family and friends. To be kind and a pleasure to be around, because we all have our crosses to bear and our sorrows to tend to.
Be safe my friends. I love you all
