Front Row Seats To Hell

Watching video of the tsunami in Japan racing across the fields gives me a rush at mother nature's might. People had never so keenly witnessed the power of a tsunami before the advent of movie and still cameras. We can experience these events safely from our homes and offices. The horrible ones like the recent Japan 9.1 and tsunami http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698 kept us glued to the news whether it was radio, tv or the Internet.

Technology has made everyone a news reporter. With all the cell phones and cameras in Japan there are hundreds of thousands of videos and pictures of the devastation flooding the Internet. Now, the threat of their nuclear reactors melting down is a very real possibility. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kc-KvQ-XUQ Not to sound callous, but finally something  more profound  on the news than a celebrity drug addict melting down.

Dramatic events like the Hindenburg blowing up are iconic images of tragedy. I know we all feel a rush when we see such images of destruction.  The first time I saw that video, I could  feel the heat and hear the girders twisting in the inferno, not to mention the explosion of the gas.

Reading about an exploding airship is not as exciting  as seeing it happen even if it is only a still shot. Seeing the video is more exciting than viewing a still.   I could see red and yellow even though the video was in black and white. 

words:http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A0SO8Zl7Wn1NrnoAE.f7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBncGdyMzQ0BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZAM-?p=the+hindenburg+broadcast&fr=mcsaoff&ei=utf-8&fr2=tab-web&n=21&tnr=20&y=Search

Technology has given us new eyes and ears to supplement our own.  We can go  from the depths of the ocean to other galaxies or we can go to a grocery store in Japan and experience a 9.1 without having to worry about being crushed or killed by flying debris. .http://wwfw.youtube.com/watch?v=MW6u2ENXCHQ&feature=related

Though we are tempted to be mesmerized by horror and drama, people also use the Internet and multimedia to help one another during times of overwhelming crises. Rescue efforts and fundraising can be coordinated via the Internet and twitter. The worlds scientific minds can come together to help solve problems like the one's happening in Japan.  In this case, it is not just  one country's problem because 2 or 3 nuclear reactor cores melting down can affect the whole planet, not just Japan. 

I think the Japanese people are still in shock and will continue to suffer, but they will survive. Though they are a modern country, the destruction has reduced some of Japan to very primitive conditions. I would ask all who read this or have religious or spiritual feelings to pray for the people of Japan as they struggle to recover from this massive disaster. If you can help in any other way; please do.