http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/sympathy-for-japan-and-admiration/?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=OP-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-SFT-031111-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click
Watching the pics and videos of the earthquake hit areas, i cudnt help but notice that people were not going crazy as one might have expected them to behave while facing such destruction... I remember watching live streams from Hurricane Katrina (US, 2005) and Haiti last year and it was painful to see many embracing their inner demons and assailing other victims with their basic instincts run amok... in treacherous times they were, and my sympathies are for their losses, but as Japanese are showing right now, even victims have a choice of choosing their behavior under extreme duress...
Of course, people coming out to help and support each other is not new, and we have seen it being put into practice in India during Bhuj and Tsunami, but Japanese are better in that than us... and I do not think it is because of difference in fiscal states between India and Japan... No... it is rather because the social fabric of Japan remains strong, their sense of purpose as a nation and pride remain indelibly strong, and that creates a structure for them to conduct themselves in ways befitting of their beliefs...
Although there are countless things which ail Japanese society... I always thought the idea of seppuchu was a bit extreme... that a growing number of old people there are turning to be more lascivious with weird fetishes, and that the 'workaholic' culture is not stable in long term...
but
I have always admired Japanese for their sense of purpose, and their social fabric... i have always loved the idea that although they are pioneers in creating humanoids and geminoids, they have maintained respect for their age old customs, traditions and social hierarchy - to point that they can be accused of being completely inflexible... still, the intertwining of old with new is the best way to look into future and Japanese have mastered that in their culture...
In any case, this is not the last time i will bemoan about changes I wish to see in India and around the world... but it is time to think about what is happening in Japan... and pray for them...
May God placate the Earth...
