Learning from the flood
At the risk of displaying some perceived political leaning, I have to say that I think everyone would benefit from listening to This american life, a public radio program, as they talk with people from NO in the aftermath of Katrina.. I know, I know. This is all you probably hear about on the news in the US -but I, being relatively limited in terms of US news exposure, have never heard a report that spent so much time giving such a clear picture of what it is like for real people stuck there.
To be fair, I have heard parts of one of the stories they relate from other news sources, but as with most news programs, it was just ten second sound-bites. That is what I love so much about some NPR programs.... they don't just play the sound-bites, they spend time to listen to the whole story, to talk about what is going on behind the "news".
In this case, although I surely don't advocate for listening only to this particular program as your sole news source on NO/Katrina, I do think that hearing this one hour's worth of real people's stories may change the way you listen to the sound bites -it has for me. It gives some context, so that when you hear a ten second mention of "looting" or "stranded people", you have some realistic context to understand what they actually means, as opposed to simply imagining for yourself a band of evil, lawless, mad-max style gun-toting gangs roaming the city.
The big problem is trying to figure out what I myself have "learned" from it. How can I make it more than just the personal fascination I feel with disaster -the same as I felt finally watching "The Day After Tomorrow" the other night?
I guess what I have "learned", is simply a clear picture of what fear can do to cloud the judgment of otherwise undoubtedly good people -The police who prevented people from fleeing New Orleans based apparently and perhaps subconsciously on their skin-color or perceived economic standing, the stupidity of jumping to conclusions about people's motives, just because they are usually people I would not associate with.
Perhaps this will all come into play when "the big one" hits Tokyo, as we all know it will, just as everyone "knew" that some day a storm would hit New Orleans, and the levy would break.
Maybe when the earthquake comes, and I am surrounded in fear and chaos, I will remember a little bit of what I have heard on this program. Maybe I will be able to understand a little bit more of what the frantic and scared around me are going through -and maybe what I am going through myself. Maybe having heard this program, I will be able to overcome my first self-preservatory reaction, and I will be able to empathize with those around me. Maybe it will cause me to be a force of good in the tragedy instead of something that makes those who are not involved shake their heads with disgust, just as I did today hearing the stories from New Orleans.
