I don't know what it is about tragedies, but I am fascinated by them in a way that seems greater than most of those around me. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has me absorbing information at a rate that is tremendous even for me. And it's as much about the stories of the individual people involved as it is about the statistics and magnitude of the event. I spend each day listening to NPR on the way to and from work nearly in tears during each interview with someone suffering through this catastrophe.
I give to the Red Cross, but after that I feel like making sure I and those around me are aware of the scope of the tragedy is my duty. Times like these really magnify the pettiness of most of our concerns.
4 comments:
Although I'm as guilty as the next man of this, they also magnify our ethocentrism to a degree? How many floods in the past 5 years have there been in the world that have caused this amount of loss of property and life? 10, 20, 50?
I'm fascinated by all of them - though they don't get the same amount of coverage.
I've absorbed the floods in Bangladesh and Ethipoia and everywhere. Not literally of course.
SpongePat Roundpants!
He's gay you know, but I'm honored to be in his company.
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