Saturday, April 16, 2011

Victory and Peace

This was in Time's Pictures of the Week for Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

Look at the picture



This was the caption:
Satisfaction
Rebel fighters make the victory sign in front of a burning vehicle belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi after an air strike by coalition forces along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah.


This is their victory sign. What does our peace sign mean?






Source:http://www.time.com/time/picturesoftheweek/0,29409,2061280_2259037,00.html

Friday, April 15, 2011

Japan's Civility

My geology teacher sent us an e-mail with the following text:

10 Things To Learn From Japan

1. The Calm-Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. The Dignity-Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or crude gesture.

3. The Ability-The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn't fall.

4. The Grace-People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.

5. The Order-No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.

6. The Sacrifice-Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the Nuclear reactors. How will they ever be repaid?

7. The Tenderness-Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.

8. The Training-The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.

9. The Media-They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.

10. The Conscience-When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.



I don't know who created this, but should they read this blog-thank you for taking them time to write this. It exemplifies the strongest of civility, something we should all keep in mind when we are faced with the decision to choose the path of least resistance vs the path of greater resistance. If these people can choose greater resistance in a disaster such as this, where their entire world has been turned upside down-then why can't we in such small actions as flicking your wrist so you don't hit a passerby on the sidewalk with your umbrella?

Dr. P. M. Forni, architect of The Civility Initiative (whose ideas are expressed in the above paragraph), offered the advice: goodness is what keeps us in business, in the business of life.

I believe this is something that the people of Japan have kept in mind during this recovery, and it is something we should keep in mind in every situation.