Philosophical Pondering: Tragedy
Katrina devastated New Orleans. It killed hundreds and spread their bodies. It ripped away people from their homes and stole all of their belongings. It buried New Orleans in a (somewhat literal) watery grave. Millions, maybe even billions, of dollars will have to be spent rebuilding the city and the lives of its former residents. Katrina was a tragedy.
In my mind, I have compared Katrina to 9/11. In fact, it bears many important similarities. Both caused countless deaths, woundings, job losses, and dollars of damage. This is where the similarities cease, for after 9-11 the American People united to take out a common enemy and strengthen themselves against terrorism. Now, after Katrina, there is a different kind of response--to save lives and to rebuild what was lost. Everyone is scrambling to try and help it and sort of elbowing each other out of the way. The tsunami also had a similar kind of effect, except on a larger scale, when people all over the world were united to repair the damaged coastlines, and it seemed then that they were actually working together.
There were, of course, some positive results from all of these crises (although Katrina's influence remains to be seen). 9-11 united our nation. The tsunami, if somewhat briefly, united the world. Katrina is attempting to unite the nation to help the displaced people from New Orleans. There also have been negative effects, of course; the outrageous gas prices and enormous amount of money the government's losing. It is true, human lives are more important than money. But it is also true that if our economy fails more people will be dying than just in the hurricane.
Our economy, as I can tell, is not going to fail in the immediate future, though. But still, this event is tragic. How does that make me feel? Am I sad? Am I disgusted? Am I depressed? How do I feel about this?
I feel like Katrina was actually a good thing, exactly what this downtrodden country needed. Now don't come pouncing on me and telling me I'm an insensitive bastard. I too mourn for the lives of those dead, and for the lives of those still living. But I'm sure (whether or not you believe in an afterlife) that they would not want us to let their deaths depress us. They would want us instead to take pride in what their deaths have accomplished. Stop arguing with each other. Help the people yourselves.
Recently, our country has become very wrapped up on hating President Bush and commenting on the deaths in Iraq. Hurricane Katrina served as a violent wake up call, shaking us back into reality. Bush may be an idiot (indubitably), but it is our duty as Americans to stand by his decisions anyway (and complain to our friends). The United States constitution is set up so that he cannot do too much damage anyway.
The situation in Iraq is terrible, possibly even tragic, but, like just about everything, it is being skewed by the media. I agree with an editorial recently placed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. There's no way for me to quote it exactly so I'll summarize what it said. Basically, it pointed out that in all of the other wars the US has been in, US soldiers died all of the time, but instead of publicizing deaths on the news, they stressed what was actually accomplished. The war in Iraq is no longer ABOUT the war in Iraq. It's about getting people mad at Bush. Useless politics. People need to stop stressing over the war.
Now, Hurricane Katrina has certainly acted as a distraction. People are once again thinking about the mounds of domestic issues we face; how can we rebuild New Orleans? stabilize the economy? lower the gas prices? In my opinion, this new focus is certainly a good thing. However, in the AJC opinion section, "The Vent," someone submitted a statement refuting my opinion; "Hurricane Katrina was started by the Bush administration to distract us from the war in Iraq." It is stupid of course to believe that the Bush administration can actually do that, but the purpose of this statement is clear. "We should still concentrate on Iraq. People are dying there. It's important."
Okay, for those of you who believe that, listen up. What is happening in the Iraq is no longer under our control. The time to act has long gone by and the ball that the Bush administration has set rolling will stop moving on its own. There is NOTHING we can do about it. The only reason to complain is to talk trash about Bush (something I do enjoy doing, but it's still pointless really). We elected him and have to live with the results. (I'm not old enough to vote)
What Hurricane Katrina did is give us something worthwhile to worry about. Something we can actually change. And that's certainly a good thing about Hurricane Katrina.
There is something good about all tragedies. Certainly while they are happening they are terrible, and afterwards they are just as terrible. We cannot change the past. We should still, of course, respect and mourn those who died. But we should also smile and think about how good it is that we are alive. But not only that. Tragedies actually improve the quality of our life.
Without tragedy, happiness would be a useless emotion. If we were never sad and anguished, happiness would be constant and would seem just as important as, let's say, eating lunch. When there is misery in the world, our happiness stands out brighter in contrast, and even when the misery is our own, we can smile and be satisfied knowing that it could always be worse.
Now then, that sounds a little cliched, doesn't it? So I'll stress my main point again. It is because of tragedies like Katrina and 9-11 that those of us who are still on Earth can truly be happy. Not only would a completely cheery world be boring, it would also be meaningless. Events like these strengthen us and enrich our lives, even if they only seem to make us miserable. The lives lost in tragedies are in no way wasted.
In my mind, I have compared Katrina to 9/11. In fact, it bears many important similarities. Both caused countless deaths, woundings, job losses, and dollars of damage. This is where the similarities cease, for after 9-11 the American People united to take out a common enemy and strengthen themselves against terrorism. Now, after Katrina, there is a different kind of response--to save lives and to rebuild what was lost. Everyone is scrambling to try and help it and sort of elbowing each other out of the way. The tsunami also had a similar kind of effect, except on a larger scale, when people all over the world were united to repair the damaged coastlines, and it seemed then that they were actually working together.
There were, of course, some positive results from all of these crises (although Katrina's influence remains to be seen). 9-11 united our nation. The tsunami, if somewhat briefly, united the world. Katrina is attempting to unite the nation to help the displaced people from New Orleans. There also have been negative effects, of course; the outrageous gas prices and enormous amount of money the government's losing. It is true, human lives are more important than money. But it is also true that if our economy fails more people will be dying than just in the hurricane.
Our economy, as I can tell, is not going to fail in the immediate future, though. But still, this event is tragic. How does that make me feel? Am I sad? Am I disgusted? Am I depressed? How do I feel about this?
I feel like Katrina was actually a good thing, exactly what this downtrodden country needed. Now don't come pouncing on me and telling me I'm an insensitive bastard. I too mourn for the lives of those dead, and for the lives of those still living. But I'm sure (whether or not you believe in an afterlife) that they would not want us to let their deaths depress us. They would want us instead to take pride in what their deaths have accomplished. Stop arguing with each other. Help the people yourselves.
Recently, our country has become very wrapped up on hating President Bush and commenting on the deaths in Iraq. Hurricane Katrina served as a violent wake up call, shaking us back into reality. Bush may be an idiot (indubitably), but it is our duty as Americans to stand by his decisions anyway (and complain to our friends). The United States constitution is set up so that he cannot do too much damage anyway.
The situation in Iraq is terrible, possibly even tragic, but, like just about everything, it is being skewed by the media. I agree with an editorial recently placed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. There's no way for me to quote it exactly so I'll summarize what it said. Basically, it pointed out that in all of the other wars the US has been in, US soldiers died all of the time, but instead of publicizing deaths on the news, they stressed what was actually accomplished. The war in Iraq is no longer ABOUT the war in Iraq. It's about getting people mad at Bush. Useless politics. People need to stop stressing over the war.
Now, Hurricane Katrina has certainly acted as a distraction. People are once again thinking about the mounds of domestic issues we face; how can we rebuild New Orleans? stabilize the economy? lower the gas prices? In my opinion, this new focus is certainly a good thing. However, in the AJC opinion section, "The Vent," someone submitted a statement refuting my opinion; "Hurricane Katrina was started by the Bush administration to distract us from the war in Iraq." It is stupid of course to believe that the Bush administration can actually do that, but the purpose of this statement is clear. "We should still concentrate on Iraq. People are dying there. It's important."
Okay, for those of you who believe that, listen up. What is happening in the Iraq is no longer under our control. The time to act has long gone by and the ball that the Bush administration has set rolling will stop moving on its own. There is NOTHING we can do about it. The only reason to complain is to talk trash about Bush (something I do enjoy doing, but it's still pointless really). We elected him and have to live with the results. (I'm not old enough to vote)
What Hurricane Katrina did is give us something worthwhile to worry about. Something we can actually change. And that's certainly a good thing about Hurricane Katrina.
There is something good about all tragedies. Certainly while they are happening they are terrible, and afterwards they are just as terrible. We cannot change the past. We should still, of course, respect and mourn those who died. But we should also smile and think about how good it is that we are alive. But not only that. Tragedies actually improve the quality of our life.
Without tragedy, happiness would be a useless emotion. If we were never sad and anguished, happiness would be constant and would seem just as important as, let's say, eating lunch. When there is misery in the world, our happiness stands out brighter in contrast, and even when the misery is our own, we can smile and be satisfied knowing that it could always be worse.
Now then, that sounds a little cliched, doesn't it? So I'll stress my main point again. It is because of tragedies like Katrina and 9-11 that those of us who are still on Earth can truly be happy. Not only would a completely cheery world be boring, it would also be meaningless. Events like these strengthen us and enrich our lives, even if they only seem to make us miserable. The lives lost in tragedies are in no way wasted.