If anyone had told me, even up to the day before the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactors incidents took place in Japan, that I would feel even one tiny morsel or shred of sympathy, compassion and hope for the people of Japan, I woulda told that person they were totally whacked out of their heads. And I probaly woulda said what I've been saying since the first day I became a history buff in my pre-teen years "Are you kidding me? I'm still majorly hocked off about what happened at Peal Harbor and I wasnt even alive when it happened!" I never thought in a million years I'd ever say this but screw history, as a human being I can do nothing but react in pure shock, horror, outrage and anger towards what happened to the citizens of Japan several days ago.
After living through the Loma Prieta earthquake of October, 1989 in Northern California, I never ever thought I'd see in my lifetime an event more than 20 times worse than that horrible day. Well I have, every one of us who have been an outside spectator of this unimaginable tragedy in Japan has, and I dont know about the rest of y'all but my heart is broken. The loss of 10,000 (and counting) lives has literally crushed my spirit. When I heard those latest numbers, it hit the pit of my stomach like a giant anvil of great loss and my heart literally sank so deep within me as my tear ducts lost control for several minutes. And when I think of the thousands of innocent lives being lost, of being tossed within the wreckage and waves of one of the worst natural disasters humankind has ever experienced, it does indeed make one unforgettable impact that will not diminish for the remainder of my lifetime and most likely even beyond.
In one of the news excerpts from the CBS News Sunday Morning program, hosted by Charles Osgood, which I viewed earlier this morning, the current prime minister of Japan was quoted as saying that the disaster his country is now dealing with is the worst his nation has ever experienced since World War II and in my opinion, that's a pretty damn accurate assessment of the situation. Yes indeed, because what's happening in Japan right now is far worse than when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in '45 and if you wanna go tit-for-tat, in regards to my Pearl Harbor reference, in terms of human lives lost, this disaster is actually 5 times (or more) worse than what happened at Pearl Harbor. But we're not talking about historical statistics here, we're talking about people, their lives, their loved ones, their homes and so much more. In other words, it's the principle here because whatta lotta folks out there dont understand is that when it comes to things such as deadly natural disasters, we're not making comparisons to demonstrate a measure of magnitude or severity of the situation, we're making comparisons because by doing so it simply allows us some form and some degree of control over a situation which we basically have no control over whatsoever. Is that bad? Is that good? Neither. It simply means that we're human and we're doing our best to come to terms with events that for the most part are way beyond the conscious realm of our thought patterns.
Yes, sure, we all could imagine something as horrible as what happened in Japan several days ago happening, but only in something like a super-duper special effects film eminating out of Hollywood; but, in real life? Nah, it would take A LOT for something like that to happen. Well, that's exactly what it did take and what happened in Japan is an undeniable, irrefutable example of how powerful indeed the forces of Mother Nature truly are. It's even been said that every now and then humankind needs a reality check to remind it where it stands in the overall schemes of the Universe. If that indeed is true, then all I can say is that what happened in Japan this past week is one such reality check that I pray never ever happens again because we humans certainly do not need any such reality checks, we deal with enough crap in our daily lives as it is without having to experience such unfathomable disasters. In fact, right now, our major concentrations should continue to be on rescue and relief efforts in helping the nation of Japan deal with the aftermath of everything that has happened, as well as sending our thoughts and/or prayers of hope and compassion to that nation, not worrying about whether or not this disaster tops this-or-that's Top 10 Disasters Lists for "Most Original Disaster" or "Best Multi-Faceted Disaster."
Speaking of the aftermath, there's something I'd like to say to two factions of American society that have been extremely verbal in their assessments of the disaster in Japan, ever since it was first brought to our attention by the media. The first group I will classify as "Nature Followers," you know who I'm talking about, the people who for the last several days have been running all around, jumping up-n-down here-n-there and saying things like "Ohhhhhh is Mother Nature majorly pissed off at all of us!!! See!! SEE!!! We all need to bow down to Her and pay homage to her, we must worship Her and ONLY Her!!" Yeah, I got some choice words for you peeps and your god/goddess but go ahead and do your worshipping while I write this piece and sharpen my nails at the same exact time. The second group is none other than those individuals whom I will classify as "Organized Religion Followers," you know what folks I'm talking about, the people who like the first group, are running all around like chickens with their heads cut off and saying "Ohhhhhhhh it's the end of the world!!! Oh my God!!!! God is so pissed off that he's gonna destroy us all, every living inch of us, our families, our loved ones, our cities, our shopping malls - He's gonna do it all goddamn it and you better watch out!!" Before I further address both groups, I'd like to say to the second group right upfront - if you're gonna spend most of your lifetime praising a God who intentionally caused or allowed what happened to Japan this past week happen, then I'm here to tell you that your God is an evil, vindictive god whom I personally do not care to associate myself with.
Alright you "Nature Followers." Now look, I love how y'all are committed to respecting and preserving the sanctity of our great planet that we have because like yourselves, I too think it's one of the most beautiful things in the known Universe and let's face it, we only get one planet, ya know? However - and I mean this most emphatically - IF you think, or even assume, that I or anyone else should bow our heads down to a force of Nature, or the force more aptly known as "Mother Nature," a force which just took the lives of 10,000 or more people all because it hadda major hissy-fit, then you can - please, by all means - bow down and kiss my sweet white American ass! Left-cheek please! I mean it, you do not and I repeat, YOU DO NOT bow down to anything that destroys and obliterates human lives, entire cities and the like just for the living hell of it! It is not right. It is wrong. It is sheer fucken insanity! Whatta buncha damn hypocrites. There isnt one of you who doesnt hesitate to stand up and throw crap at your Organized Religion counterparts, yet you guys are preaching the same goddamn crap that they are preaching - "Oh, thousands of people have died, so now we have to bow down and give reverence to whichever Divine Force, all the while reminding ourselves that we are idiots, we cant use our brains and souls for anything, we must bow down, we must!" When you Nature followers, you Druid-wannabes, you white wiccan, behave in this manner, you become just as negative, judgemental and oppressive as the other groups you so fervently oppose. Yet you guys would like me and everyone else on the planet to follow your ways, because the all-Natural way is the way to go? Oh please, you people need lay off of the magic mushrooms and get a hold of yourselves.
Let me tell you what I'd do to your Mother Nature if that major nasty thundercunt were a real person. I'd walk up to her, give her the most deepest and best left hook of my entire life, and as the blood and teeth were flying outta her mouth, as she would struggle to ask me "Why'd you just do that??" I'd respond "That was for the people of Japan. Shame on you! This next one is for every man, woman, child, animal and living creature that you've personally destroyed since time began. Oh, and the third and final one is just to remind you that you're not the biggest bitch on top of the shitpile Sweethaht!" I would too. I'd smack the living hell outta that witch so damn bad she'd regret ever being created in the first place. Trust me, if such a scenario were possible, this would be one of those extremely rare times when physical violence of any kind would definitely be warranted.
You denizens of Organized Religion arent getting off scott-free either. "Oh it's the end of the world!!! The end of the world is coming!!! Oh My!!! Oh Dear!!! Oh Dithers!!" Yeah, like running around yelling that crap is gonna save your sorry asses should sucha event finally happen. Yep, running around screaming out unintelligible epitaphs is the way to save yourselves, yep, that's exactly what I would do too - NOT! You people need to get a hold of yourselves too and calm down. I'm pretty sure that if your definition of who/what is God is as loving and grace-blessing as millions of you out there claim He is, then He would want you to simply remain calm and use the brains He gave you to comprehend and deal with the situation versus flipping out all over the place like a bunch of spazzs who forgot to pick up their Percocet prescriptions over at Walgreen's! Like I said, I dont know when the world is gonna end either but I'd like to think I would try to remain as calm and rational as possible, should it happen in my lifetime, as well as do what I possibly could to save both myself and my loved ones.
Look, I'm not saying that those of you who follow the Nature religions and Organized religions of the world should throw your personal belief systems out the window in the face of adversity, whether it be a major natural disaster such as what happened over in Japan this past week or not; but, to refuse to use your brains to figure out better ways on how you and your fellow human beings can devise even better ways of protecting ourselves against any type of disaster, as well as ensuring our survival on this planet, is just totally ludicrous. Whether you believe our brains were formed by some Natural process or by some Supreme Being is not the point - by not utilizing our intelligence for the good of others, you are not only spitting in the face of the Universe, but you're also spitting on your fellow human beings and either way you look at it, that's just not right. You're not only upsetting every fine balance in the Universe, you're also actually committing a crime against your fellow humankind. We're here to help each other, to make this world a better, safer place to live in, not to sacrifice our intelligence and our will to survive all for the sake of any Natural and/or Spiritual forces. It's okay to turn to any type of faith you personally believe in when things get tough, just dont ignore the safety and well-being of your fellow man in the process.
I wish there was more I could do for the people of Japan than just send them my thoughts and prayers of hope, safety and well-being but if all one can do is just those things alone, then that's okay because they are real tangible things that are sent out for the good of all others. Do events such as the disaster that is still currently unfoldiing in Japan question my own personal faiths, whatever those faiths may be? Yes, they do indeed but that doesnt mean that I or anyone who feels that way is a bad person, an evil monster that is gonna end up in some place akin to Hell just for thinking those thoughts. All it means is that I care enough about my fellow human beings to say "Forget the reasonings of how or why, we need to take care of you first, to rescue and care for you and your loved ones first, we'll worry about all those other things another time." I guess when it really boils down to it, we should keep in mind that if we dont make an effort to save others, how then can we save ourselves and moreso, what would be the point? My heart goes out to the people of Japan, not just today, not just tomorrow but for every day and night from here on out until this horrible situation is over with. May their loved ones be found alive, may their families be reunited and may each and every one of them live long enough for years to come so that they may look back one day and say "Wow, that was horrible, but we made it through, we survived." Thank you for reading.
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