Disasters are commonly accepted to be terrible things, destroying
tangible objects like infrastructure and killing people, and also causing
intangible harm, like causing people to feel traumatised. Such harm is
perpetuated by various forms of disasters, be they natural like tornados or
man-made like oil spills, or social disasters such as terrorist attacks. Yet,
it is worth noting that it is exactly these disasters that motivate people to
live through the terrible times, and bring out the best in them. In response to
disasters, people seem to become more courageous and civic minded, with many of
them becoming leaders as well. These are all admirable traits in man.
In the fore, it may seem as though natural disasters create
opportunities for people to commit crimes. In the wake of a natural disaster,
there is bound to be some form of chaos that presents itself as an opportunity
for people to steal and rob the community. Many people think about their needs
before that of others and this selfish attitude is more likely to show itself
after a disaster strikes than in normal circumstances. However, more often than
not, people tend to exhibit more positive behavior in the face of calamity. One
pertinent example would be the case of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of
2011. Miki Endo proved herself to be a hero of her community when she
sacrificed her own life to make continued announcements from a building for
people to evacuate to higher ground, eventually saving over a thousand others.
This form of heroism is particularly admirable because it is extremely
difficult for a twenty-four year old to sacrifice her life for the sake of the
community, in which she may not particularly have known everyone. Such heroism
is indisputedly one of the best traits of mankind, something which would hardly
surface in everyday living. Another widely observed phenomenon was the
civic-mindedness of the survivors. After the calamity, despite the grief and
terribly cold weather, the Japanese remained thoughtful, giving up their places
in the ration queue to the elderly folks among them without hesitation. This
form of help goes to show that disaster does make people more civic minded, as
they not only consider their own suffering, but also that of others.
Of course, cynics may assert that in times of social conflict, there
would be many casualties, which have multiple implications on different groups
of people. People may become discouraged and feel let down if they end up
losing their family members in disasters, and lack the motivation to carry on
with their lives. Survivors are also harmed when they suffer from
post-traumatic stress disorder, or survivor’s guilt. Despite this, there are
many instances in which people have continued to live on, and have even
developed greater resilience after a while. For instance, Victor Guzman was a
survivor of the 9/11 attacks, suffering from both of the abovementioned
illnesses. However, after the incident, he was able to pick himself up from the
ordeal; he learned to treasure his family more, and started to prioritise his
family over his work. Such disasters make people ponder what they consider to
be most valuable to them, spurring them to treasure these things. In this
sense, disasters make people value what they love most, as the experience of
nearly having lost these things drives home the ephemerality of life. This is in
contrast to modern society, in which many people blindly follow others in the
pursuit of material gain, but do not question the underlying reason for it.
Disasters make their lives seem more unique in a way, allowing them to develop
their own understanding of their particular priorities and circumstances.
Therefore, disasters do bring out the best attitudes in survivors.
Pessimists would also claim that it is easy for people or even
corporations to shirk their responsibilities in an effort to cover up man-made
disasters. People who are more concerned with their image are unwilling to
admit their contributions to the problem, and may be more likely to hide from
the problem. However, most people are more likely to develop more possibilities
to solve the problem. The BP spill of 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico proved this.
It took eighty-seven days for the engineers that came at the behest of both BP
and the USA to find a solution to the problem, but they still did it in the
end, achieving the supposed “impossible”. The effort encouraged more
governments and corporations to understand the importance of our environment,
such that we can protect and preserve it. This is in contrast to the normal
attitude of taking the exploitation of the environment as a right of mankind.
The motivation to stay responsible for one’s actions in spite of the
consequences is extremely admirable, yet only it often surfaces only in the
wake of a disaster. In fact, we owe the existence of the Pacific Tsunami
Warning System to a tsunami that swept Hawaii in 1946. When disasters take away
something that is usually taken for granted, then people will realise its
importance and begin to preserve it. It is thus safe to conclude that disasters
bring out the best efforts and intents that differ from the norm, for the benefit
of both the present and the future.
In conclusion, the disasters that we face today may indeed be
problematic, doing great harm, but they do encourage mankind to move forward,
to continually improve, and adopt selfless attitudes. Differing actions arise
while chaos erupts, but the cumulative response tends to be more positive than
negative. Therefore, man has the ability to become better, whether temporary or
for good, as a result of disasters.
1 comments:
Very well written, thank you!
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