Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Ongoing Nightmare of Haiti

The ongoing horror of Haiti is a lot like watching someone who is having problems in their life and who is already living on the streets get hit and injured almost everyday by a passing car. But yesterday they were hit so hard they can't walk anymore.

This earthquake is like that almost fatal blow to this country that has had so many troubles ongoing.

I turned CNN on just now to watch the earthquake coverage on Haiti and realized it was just too awful to watch. It is what happened in New Orleans during the Hurricane there times 1000 or more. It is just too horrific to even contemplate. Estimates of 100,000 to 500,000 dead already are not surprising given that level of shaking with no rebar(re-inforcement metal bars) in the cement to prevent collapse) during an earthquake. I believe that Haiti will require rebar soon after this earthquake in all new construction there as long as the dysfunction there doesn't get any worse than it presently is.

I think the world needs to watch very carefully how people worldwide respond to this calamity. It is my belief that there is a sort of Triage mentality coming more and more to the fore in all nations now that we are definitely not in times of plenty anymore worldwide. So, how we respond worldwide to this and all other calamities will tell us a lot about who we are as a world culture and where we are going.

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