Japan

Like everyone else I look on in horror at the pictures of Japan.  The tragedy and the pain.  The suffering people have been brought to their knees in a scene horrifically similar to the destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  Miles and miles of rubble is punctuated by fragments of still existing standing structures.  They rise from the debris defying the destruction around them yet isolated and alone.  With each day it seems like the horrors grow, thousands of bodies washing up on the shore line, lives shattered seemingly beyond repair.

As if to add a punctuation mark on the horrific scene we learn of nuclear plants melting down.  It has been 66 years since the atomic bombs dropped yet once again the nuclear nightmare has returned.  It is always hard to know how to respond to suffering when you are an ocean away.  I sent some money to the Japanese Red Cross but it seems like a hallow gesture when they need so much more.

Shinichi Izumi

Over the years I have had a number of Japanese friends.  I have lost touch with them all yet hope in my heart they were far away.  My university had a special exchange program with the Tokyo International University and every year hundreds of Japanese students would visit our campus.  One in particular, Shinichi Izumi, lived across the hall from me.  We became friends and I can still see his subtle smile in my mind.  America and Japan have had a special relationship since the war.  Born from the ashes of destruction, somehow our societies put the pain of war behind us.  Somehow we developed side by side and despite having uniquely different cultures, have been partners for fifty years.  Japanese Americans have quietly existed as some of the most productive members of our society despite the national shame we put them through forcing them into internment camps during the Second World War.  They are quietly and humbly part of the fabric of our nation.

Larry Kudlow

While watching my television, mesmerized by the wasteland that was once living communities, I have found myself stunned by the insensitivity of some Americans.  The height of this was reached by CNBC reporter Larry Kudlow when he declared, "I am relieved that the human toll is much worse than the economic toll, and we can be grateful for that."  I am just waiting for the Christian Right to declare it an act of God against homosexuality or a "Godless nation."

As waves of destruction cascaded against the shore line and literally thousands of aftershocks continued to rattle the beaten bodies and nerves of those that survived, American broadcasters quickly focused on how the Tsunami would impact us.  Live coverage of ripples in the water in Hawaii.  A marina in California filled with million dollar yachts trashed by a wave.    Rush Limbaugh asked if environmentalist would cheer at all the destroyed cars.  In political circles, the topic of conversation here has quickly become an effort to stave off any anti nuclear effort.  Perish the thought we might want to learn from their mistakes.  I have already heard others say how this disaster could be a boon to the Japanese economy as they must rebuild.  Not a whisper about how to care for those that have been affected.  Are we really so self centered?

My wife has a cousin that that lived in Sendai.  He is married to a Japanese woman and works as an engineer for Honda.  Thankfully word has come that he is okay.  He is currently staying with his wife's family.  I can only wonder what fragments if any remain from their lives.

I don't know where Shinichi is right now but if he is out there I hope he is well.  I hope he didn't lose any of his family.  As humans we can't control nature, we can only yield to it.  The one thing we can do is show compassion.  The root of humanity is human and we must remember to keep it a part of us.

Postscript: As luck would have it through the miracle of the internet I found Shinichi.  He is in Tokyo and okay.  While the knowledge of his status is comforting at the same time, it makes the disaster feel so much more real.