Longtime LITD readers know I don't devote much space to natural disasters. The basic reason is that they are a given, an inevitable part of the landscape, an element of the parameters on the human condition. Besides, how do you convey the "Our-prayers-go-out-to-all-those-affected-my-weren't-some-records-for-water-surge-broken-consider-sending-a-check-to-the-Red-Cross" message without sounding mind-numbingly trite?
I don't dwell on natural disasters for the same reason I don't dwell on plane crashes or interstate car pile-ups. They tell us nothing about how human will is shaping history, and that is where the rubber really hits the road for our species. Up and down the east coast, good people will work tirelessly to get power back on, get food and medical supplies where they're needed, and get debris cleared away. And the fate of Western civilization will still hinge on next Tuesday.
Like so much else, this big storm is one more momentary claim on our attention as the biggest picture of all looms before us. Misfortune befalls the residents of free and prosperous nations and those oppressed by despotic regimes alike. The key is to do all one can - relentlessly - to grant more human beings a life in the first circumstance and consign ever-fewer to life in the second.
That said, it's really windy in central Indiana this morning.
Sandy will be a boon to the econony and a windfall for some. RIP those who died. All the rest can be fixed.
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