Responding to Japan Disaster

The other day while we were watching news reports from Japan, my husband wondered aloud when the Blame Game would start. That's what usually happens after a disaster of that magnitude... well actually after a disaster of any magnitude. We have a day or two or three of collective horror and sadness, and then we have to find someone or some entity to be the focus of our anger. We need to vent that emotion, strike out.

Surprisingly, the Blame Game has not started, but the media is busy noting all the ways this disaster is having bad effects for all of us. News sources are leading with stories about the nuclear melt-down and how that will affect people in far reaches of the world. Then there are all the stories about how the disaster impacted the stock market, and oil prices, and commodities trading.

What happened to the stories about the people of Japan? The families that lost loved ones. The people standing in line for hours to get into a supermarket that may have nothing but empty shelves. The heroic rescues of people trapped in rubble for days. The people who voluntarily stopped using non-essential electrical appliances.

And perhaps the most profound new item, at least to me, was about the fact that there has been no rioting or looting by the Japanese people. Perhaps it is because of the strong sense of community that comes from their Buddhist tradition, but whatever influences such restraint and respect for others is most commendable. 

I'm not saying that those other stories are not important. They certainly are. I'm just saying that I wish we could really hold up these positive stories as an example of "grace under fire."

If you would like to help the people of Japan in some way, here is a Web site that has a list of organizations that are providing relief and looking for donations. There is even one man, an American writer, Jason Kelly who is collecting socks. That may sound a bit silly, but he believes that "All human being are comforted by a clean, fresh pair of socks."

Uncommon Decency

A teenager wrote a letter to the Dallas Morning News recently defending the crassness of the new movie, "The Hangover". She wrote, "In today's American society, which is anything but conservative, it takes more than a dry innuendo to stir up a laugh. Vulgarity is natural and expected. If people are offended, they can choose to stay home."

Not long afterward, David Brooks wrote a column titled In Search of Dignity. He was referencing the code established by George Washington that was comprised of a list of 110 "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation."

Among the many edicts in Washington's code were commands to "endeavor to put national interests above personal interests, never degrade intimate emotions by parading them in public, and to distrust rashness, zealotry, fury and political enthusiasm."

It's not surprising that the teen who wrote that letter hadn't heard of Washington's code. It is all but forgotten in modern society, and we are much poorer as a result. And I do mean that literally. We are a morally bankrupt society, and that debases us on all levels.

Anyone who doesn't believe that the current global financial problems were caused as much by greed as economic factors, raise your hand.

Anyone who doesn't believe that the increase in teen pregnancies is caused in part by a proliferation of movies and television shows that present sex as just another "game" to be enjoyed, raise your hand.

Anyone who doesn't believe that politicians care more about their party and re-election than the good of the people, raise your hand.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I lament the fact that we no longer have a general consensus of right and wrong, civil discourse, or a sense of what is proper behavior in public. As David Brooks put it in his recent column, "Americans still admire dignity, but the word has become unmoored from any larger set of rules or ethical system."

Someone get a rope and tie us back up.