Opus 2024-329: A Lot of Questions

 Opus 2024-329:  A Lot of Questions

As I contemplate what we are learning about the destruction in Asheville, North Carolina, a lot of questions come to mind.  As I wander down this path I don’t want to take away from the tragedy of the wild rampage of the natural world.  People died.  Property was destroyed.  Those who survived have had the direction of their lives changed.  None of that should be mocked or belittled.

My mind always goes to “Why?”  Could the tragedy have been averted?  You can’t blame the hurricane.  It just did what hurricanes have to do.  It isn’t like Helene got up one morning and said, “This looks like an ideal day to reap carnage.”  There is a long list of natural events that have played out over time whether people were around or not.  Think of the question, “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a noise?”  Unless you are a frog sleeping under a bush that does not matter.  The fact is the tree fell.  Hurricanes happen.  So do earthquakes, tsunamis, eruptions, droughts, floods and mosquitoes.  Think of Pompeii being buried by a volcano.  Think of the tidal waves and soot in the air cause when Krakatoa exploded.   None of them depend on the approval or preparation of humanity.

That part of “why” is a question for science.  It involves temperature, air pressure, solar flares and probably nature phenomenon that we don’t notice.  I has no moral component.  It is possible that something might be learned to reduce future danger but not enough to prevent it.

The human side of the equation is different.  Think of the Gulf coast or parts of California.  Natural disasters wipe out homes and business on a regular basis.  People rebuild in the same location.  Should I have sympathy for them?  In Southern California there is a large development in the foothills filled with very expensive real estate.  Such a thing is normal.  What does not seem to be considered is the location in a river bed that has been flooded repeatedly before.  Will the flood control work this time?  Or how about the people who build in the hills that are regularly swept by fires?

They say this was a hundred year or thousand year hurricane.  Does that justify the many homes that seem to have been located where water rages?  I find it hard to believe that everyone who had their home destroyed carefully thought out the location.  It was cute.  It was picturesque.  It was cheap

And what about the decisions to not be prepared?  I understand that you could have all the food and water stored that you might need and a flood could wash it down stream for someone else to use but I don’t think that is the problem for most of those in need.  Every once in awhile you read an article that talks about how little food and water people keep on hand.  If we were cut off we would have no concern about starving or dying of thirst.  Our diet might get boring but it would keep us alive.  Why?  Because we have planned ahead.

I read about people they were calling “disaster tourists” who were coming around to take selfies in the destruction.  If they can get in to take selfies, why can’t supplies be delivered?  There are a lot of unanswered questions.  I remember one that my students kept asking when we studied earthquakes, “How will you get home if the bridges are knocked down?”  The answer never seemed to occur to them:  I would walk.  While we wait for it to sort itself out pray for the genuine victims and if you know a reliable way to send help, do so.

And be thankful.

homo unius libri