Hurricane Part II
- Thread starter Moonwind
- Start date
Jay Rodriguez
Coffee Member
wow, I'm happy that you're ok...... wish everyone was ok but reality took its toll
Moonwind
Well-known member
Mythfit said:
Your well wishing does more good than you think. Knowing that people are sending good thoughts and prayers, knowing people care, is one of the greatest balms to the soul around. So, I gladly accept your well whishes and will pass them around when we head back home tomorrow. Thank you, Mythfit.
XCheck
Veteran
Hi folks!
A lot has been said about the hurricane, its path of destruction, how people cope and how communities/leaders/governments react or don't react. This is not to disagree or challenge anyone's point of view - it's more about food for thought (mostly my own at this point, but you are welcome to join in). Oh, and if it doesn't make sense, don't fret about it - I am as confused as the next guy.
First - I have a deep, heartfelt sympathy for anyone who has been affected by this storm. Please keep that in mind; some of the things I am about to write, when taken out of context, could be seen as cynical. I am not a cynic - otherwise I would hardly have film making as a major interest. That said...
I agree with those who criticize the sensationalism of media, and selecting the most horrid of images and sound bits, to increase the ratings. It's one of many reasons I don't watch TV. But that is hardly anything new, or even specific to our times. For ages, people have preferred to hear stories of war, famine and destruction over stories of happy lives filled with joy, or people dying peacefully in their sleep. Pick any classic story, and more often than not, it will be of the same theme - Adam and Eve, Sodoma and Gommorha (sp?), the biblical flood, Armageddon, the stories of Atlantis, Troy, Rome, WWII, ...
Catastrophes, disasters, and the wrath of gods have always fascinated the human race. The 'modern' news just keep that tradition. Do you think that with last Monday, the situation in Darfur stopped? That crisis in Niger is suddenly over? That the Chinese government released all political prisoners? If you are a Katrina victim, would you trade your situation with someone in Iraq?
Human race is very arrogant about its place in the universe. Our species demand that we are at the centre of it, and no amount of scientific evidence will convince us otherwise. We are a bunch of greedy, self-centered, territorial beasts. We, in the rich West and North, want more than we need, and the poor East and South want everything we already have - and which we refuse to give up. In our megalomanic, egocentric ways, we build that tallest buildings, the largest stadiums, the loudest boomboxes, the fastest cars. Nothing is ever enough for us. The laws of nature, namely conservation of matter and energy? That's for pointy-haired scientists - please don't bother us with that science stuff, it makes our brains hurt. We insist on living on the edge - and the farther out that edge is, the better. Skyscrapers in earthquake zones, wooden houses on the beach, castles in the sand. We are conquering the nature.
Then something happens, and we demand compassion and help.
Well guess what... compassion cannot be legislated, nobody has a right to be felt sorry for. All the help that has been or has not been coming, is help that nobody has a natural right for. Blaming politician X or agency Y for not acting fast enough or not putting enough resources to a particular area doesn't lead anywhere - it is just another manifestation of human egocentrism. People help other people because that keeps the social fabric intact, not because those affected would have any special right to be helped. Most people help because they understand they too may need help one day. Some may even offer help for dubious reasons (publicity and vote-buying).
In an attempt to avoid blame, both individual and institutional, we create stupid laws that further erode our natural instincts and abilities. We ban farm animals from cities, wild flowers from our lawns, and replace them with 'keep dogs on leash' signs. We invent rules and regulations that are supposed to make our lives 'safer'. In the process, we are ever further disconnected from our natural surroundings, becoming more and more dependent on what the 'modern civilization' has to offer.
In a great irony of a devil's plot, I am writing this in an air-conditioned office in one of the best 'protected' cities in the world, on a Pentium-powered laptop, thus contributing to the ultimate demise of a species called Homo sapiens...
If I was a Vulcan, I'd surely avoid this planet as its inhabitants show no rationality at all.
A lot has been said about the hurricane, its path of destruction, how people cope and how communities/leaders/governments react or don't react. This is not to disagree or challenge anyone's point of view - it's more about food for thought (mostly my own at this point, but you are welcome to join in). Oh, and if it doesn't make sense, don't fret about it - I am as confused as the next guy.
First - I have a deep, heartfelt sympathy for anyone who has been affected by this storm. Please keep that in mind; some of the things I am about to write, when taken out of context, could be seen as cynical. I am not a cynic - otherwise I would hardly have film making as a major interest. That said...
I agree with those who criticize the sensationalism of media, and selecting the most horrid of images and sound bits, to increase the ratings. It's one of many reasons I don't watch TV. But that is hardly anything new, or even specific to our times. For ages, people have preferred to hear stories of war, famine and destruction over stories of happy lives filled with joy, or people dying peacefully in their sleep. Pick any classic story, and more often than not, it will be of the same theme - Adam and Eve, Sodoma and Gommorha (sp?), the biblical flood, Armageddon, the stories of Atlantis, Troy, Rome, WWII, ...
Catastrophes, disasters, and the wrath of gods have always fascinated the human race. The 'modern' news just keep that tradition. Do you think that with last Monday, the situation in Darfur stopped? That crisis in Niger is suddenly over? That the Chinese government released all political prisoners? If you are a Katrina victim, would you trade your situation with someone in Iraq?
Human race is very arrogant about its place in the universe. Our species demand that we are at the centre of it, and no amount of scientific evidence will convince us otherwise. We are a bunch of greedy, self-centered, territorial beasts. We, in the rich West and North, want more than we need, and the poor East and South want everything we already have - and which we refuse to give up. In our megalomanic, egocentric ways, we build that tallest buildings, the largest stadiums, the loudest boomboxes, the fastest cars. Nothing is ever enough for us. The laws of nature, namely conservation of matter and energy? That's for pointy-haired scientists - please don't bother us with that science stuff, it makes our brains hurt. We insist on living on the edge - and the farther out that edge is, the better. Skyscrapers in earthquake zones, wooden houses on the beach, castles in the sand. We are conquering the nature.
Then something happens, and we demand compassion and help.
Well guess what... compassion cannot be legislated, nobody has a right to be felt sorry for. All the help that has been or has not been coming, is help that nobody has a natural right for. Blaming politician X or agency Y for not acting fast enough or not putting enough resources to a particular area doesn't lead anywhere - it is just another manifestation of human egocentrism. People help other people because that keeps the social fabric intact, not because those affected would have any special right to be helped. Most people help because they understand they too may need help one day. Some may even offer help for dubious reasons (publicity and vote-buying).
In an attempt to avoid blame, both individual and institutional, we create stupid laws that further erode our natural instincts and abilities. We ban farm animals from cities, wild flowers from our lawns, and replace them with 'keep dogs on leash' signs. We invent rules and regulations that are supposed to make our lives 'safer'. In the process, we are ever further disconnected from our natural surroundings, becoming more and more dependent on what the 'modern civilization' has to offer.
In a great irony of a devil's plot, I am writing this in an air-conditioned office in one of the best 'protected' cities in the world, on a Pentium-powered laptop, thus contributing to the ultimate demise of a species called Homo sapiens...
If I was a Vulcan, I'd surely avoid this planet as its inhabitants show no rationality at all.