The Evil Within

I received a communication via my brother this evening.  It was a poem or piece which addressed the events in Japan of the past week.  It talked of using this opportunity to look within and let your love grow; let your spirit soar and reach out to heal and spread good vibes and blah, blah, blah.  I can't quote it and, in all fairness, I do not have any good facility with poetry so maybe I'm being unfair.  Nonetheless, reading the piece raised my dander and led me to consider a couple of things about the current state of our world, our country, and Japan.

There is little we can do to harness the awesome power of nature.  We can rail against the elements like Lear but, in the end, we will be dashed against the rocks like so many eggs.  Wind and floods and earthquakes and fire.  We can fight, we can often recover, but we can seldom avoid-- ultimately, nature wins.

What we can do is strive to avoid making our own disasters. It seems mankind is driven by two principle beliefs.  Over time these beliefs have been resident in every population in spite of their malignant potential to cause hardship and suffering. With respect to social systems, whether political or religious, it boils down to "we're right and you're wrong." With respect to nature, the environment, and the resources of this earth it boils down to "it'll never happen" as in,  "We have plenty of oil if only you'll let us drill in..... " " The likelihood of an earthquake being able to......"  "We have considered every scenario and it is extremely unlikely..... "

The time has come to realize that our time on earth is finite.  You can chose a religious belief or the scientific evidence, both provide convincing arguments that the earth will one day be destroyed.  We need all people of all religions and all political convictions to acknowledge that our behaviors can have a profound influence on how soon that end may come.  In the same vein we need to all realize that we are one community.  Whether separated by arbitrary boundaries on a map or by oceans, we all breathe the same air, drink the same water, require the same nutrients.  When one goes without food we all suffer hunger.  When one is poor we all suffer poverty.  When one is illiterate we all suffer ignorance.  Greed, selfishness, and intolerance eviscerate the well-being of mankind.  For the few who benefit in the short term, all suffer and the number of our days is reduced.

In light of the current tragedy in Japan I cannot hate the earthquake and tsunami as they are as much a part of this world as the air we breathe.  I can only hope that we are paying full attention to the consequences of these natural disasters which we have augmented in terrifying proportion owing the ignorance and arrogance of man and his foible technology. I can only hope we will commit to learning from these events, correcting where we can, and evolving in technologies which are both wise and serviceable.