bushido

It's strange that I don't really cry at tragedies but at the drop of a hat I cry at acts of courage and kindness. Watching the coverage of the Japan earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown triple disaster, I teared up a number of times, not so much at the death and destruction but rather at the humanity. I cried when I saw people in Sendai standing in three-hour-plus lines outside a supermarket just so they are allowed to buy a maximum of ten essential items. What moved me was how orderly and respectful they were. Mothers and fathers with their small children in tow were just patiently standing in the long queues. In America and most likely other places, the supermarket would have been looted, and chaos would have ensued. Then there was the incident in which Diane Sawyer ran across a group of survivors gathered on the street eating their small food rations. As soon as she approached them, they offered her a share of their food, as if she were an invited guest to their house for tea on a typical Sunday afternoon. And what about the daughter who carried her disabled elderly mother on her small back to safety? Finally, the Fukushima nuclear power plant workers who volunteered to go back in to carry forth with whatever the task is to try to fix the reactors to prevent a complete nuclear meltdown. It is a march to their certain deaths and an unimaginable act of heroics and duty and honor to save their families and their towns and their country. The Japanese people are an amazing lot. I am in awe of their display of dignity and pride and bravery during these horrific times. I respect them so much and wish I could do more than just donating a few bucks to help. And I pray to whichever God is responsible that He would show some mercy to these people, who do not deserve this tragedy. Nobody does.