Humanity first

We were all struck by the colossal earthquake and tsunami in Japan last Friday. The images and videos keep coming in, each more horrific and terrifying than the last.

But one thing stood out for me above all.

The shaking of the earth and the awe-inspiring force of the tidal surge treated each person they encountered the same way.

They did not hit the Japanese natives harder.

They did not take it easy on the tourists from America.

They did not bring more pain to gays.

They did not bypass the wealthy.

They did not treat the handicapped with more respect.

Throughout the region, nature wreaked havoc with a complete and uniform disregard for the human race.

And while this makes me incredibly sad, angry, frightened and confused it also left with me a bit of hope.

Hope that we can recognize that every last one of us is the same.

Hope that we can appreciate that our time here is limited and should not be spent causing others pain.

Hope that while political beliefs can vary, our concern for the welfare of other human beings should not be bound by race, creed, sex, color, sexual preference, religion or country of origin.

Now, those who've read some of my previous posts may be asking, where's the sarcasm? Where's the anger? Where's the vitrol? This hope stuff doesn't sound like Tjack at all.

Well, allow me to wrap things up with a little anti-hope.

How much fucking tragedy do we have to witness before we realize we're all on the same damn team here? We can argue about political policies and sling crap at each other all we want, but if we're not all starting from the baseline of trying to make shit better for everyone, then what's the point?

Now, if you'd rather respond to the fear that a calamity-filled life instills in all of us with a feverish self interest that will likely lead you to a lonely, loveless life with no meaning, then that's your choice. And I wish you luck in your journey towards eternal prickdom. But I doubt you'll need it.