Editor: Dave Uphoff
I feel it necessary to at least make some comment on the largest natural disaster that has ever occurred in
terms of loss of human life. Over 150,000 are known dead and the count will surely rise as disease
takes its toll from the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in December. We all shudder at the enormity
of 150,000 lives being snuffed out in a matter of minutes. That is hard to comprehend. In fact, it took our
government a little while longer than it should to respond with offers of help in the stricken
area, probably because it seemed so unbelievable.
The government is offering $350 million in aid and the American people are responding with donations. Americans
have characteristically responded with help to those who are in need. I remember after World War II when
my parents would send care packages to a family in Germany to help them recover from the war.
While some will disagree with me, I think it is important for Americans to respond in great numbers to
aid the victims of the Tsunami. First of all, it was a natural disaster that created the misery, not
a war. It could happen anywhere. No one is to blame for this disaster except perhaps those countries
who failed to develop an adequate reporting system for tsunamis.
Secondly, many of those stricken were Muslims. To come to the aid of Muslims cannot but help our image
with the Muslim world. It may not impress Osama bin Laden and his creeps, but it should go a
long way to get the average Muslim to accept us instead of distrusting us.
Finally, it is an opportunity for us to show the rest of the world once again that Americans are
caring and generous and are willing to help those less fortunate. Those who have never been
to other countries don't realize the image Americans project to the rest of the world.
The reaction is a mixture of envy, jealousy, and hatred. That is what happens when you
are number one in the world. As the world grows smaller and more interdependent, it behooves
us to adopt a more unified approach with the rest of the world. We must get the rest of
the world to adopt a more accepting approach towards us. In doing so, we might just get
the rest of the world to join with us to help fight the war on terrorism.
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The other thought that crossed my mind concerning the enormous loss of life from the tsunami,
is that other massive loss of lives have incurred in the not too distant past. The dropping of
the atom bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima to end World War II took over 175,000 lives! Yet no
massive rush to aid was forthcoming in that aftermath. Over 100,000 civilian lives were lost in
the bombing of Dresden, Germany in World War II. Of course, don't forget the 6 million people Hitler
slaughtered or the 20 million people Stalin murdered. The moral here is that natural disasters are deemed
more horrific that man-made disasters. We shudder at calamities that we cannot predict or that
are capricious. Uncertainty and unpredictability is unnerving to man. Predictable and planned
slaughter seems easier to comprehend and to justify.
We now know much more about tsunamis and how destructive they can be. The History Channel has
done an excellent job covering the subject. What we have learned is that nature is capricious and vicious
and there is little we can do about it. Millions of years ago, 90% of plant and animal life was
eliminated as the result of a gigantic meteorite that struck the earth causing a calamitous change
in the environment and the climate. Scientists say it could happen again.
In addition, our own country could be subjected to a super tsunami. There is a remote island
near the Canary Islands that some scientists believe will eventually split apart, perhaps from an earthquake. When it does,
it will cause a massive landslide that will generate a mega tsunami that will create waves up
to 100 feet high and will reach the eastern coast of the United States within 8 hours. Millions of
lives could be lost in that catastrophe. A mega tsunami created a 500 foot wave in Alaska
in 1958 as the result of a landslide, so we know that they are possible.
These events show how insignificant we are in relation to our time and place on this earth.
We all are at the mercy of nature.
To show my respect for the forces of nature and to show my willingness to help us become
one with the rest of the world, I am sending a check to the American Red Cross earmarked
for the tsumani disaster relief fund. I urge everyone to do the same. Send your check made out
to The American Red Cross and write in the memo area of your check "International Response Fund".
The money will be sent on to those involved in the tsunami relief effort. The address for the local
Red Cross chapter is:
American Red Cross
1 Westport Court
Bloomington, IL 61704
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