I feel so sorry for the Japanese right now. How awful is it that not only do they have to endure a tsunami, but now have to fear radiation from a nuclear disaster? And I hate to state the obvious, but the Japanese were already nuked twice and they dealt with the radiation from that for generations to come—thanks to us. From what I’m reading and seeing on TV, the situation is not getting any better. I really feel sorry for these people.
I took a poll on Fox News and the question was “Are you concerned that radiation from the Japanese nuclear disaster will reach the United States?” The possible answers and results, so far, were as follows:
1. Not really—there’s a big ocean out there (52.32%)
2. Somewhat—Radiation pouring into the atmosphere concerns me, no matter how far away. (33.17%)
3. Very—I’m monitoring the situation closely to see if it will affect me. (11.23%)
4. I don’t know— (2.21%)
5. Other (Post a comment)— (1.07%) My answer to these people…..how about answering the question, not posting a comment, dummies?
I answered #1, but I doubt my answer the more I give any thought to it. We’re concerned about pollution because it falls into the ocean and the creatures that we eat ingest the pollutants. If we are what we eat, we’re eating stuff that makes us sick and cause cancer. So if the radiation is carried by the wind and dumped into the water, we are going to be affected. Right? We know that that’s what happens, so should we be worried? Unfortunately, I am not a science person. However, sometimes it’s better not to be a science person—when things get scary you can spend your time in the clouds with the other dreamers, writing about worlds that have happy endings. I have always wanted to be a journalist, but I have gotten to a point in my life where I get very depressed about what’s going on and it’s easier to write creatively than to really dissect the news. One of my professors once told me that I am a sweet person, which meant that I was more likely to burn out at a young age. He said “When you spend an evening covered in soot after a plane crashes and you go home and realize you’re washing off human remains, it’s easy to find a new career.” What he said was so graphic that I thought about it a lot while I was in school, and obviously have never forgotten it. He was a great teacher, but he was very hard on me. He wanted me to go into print rather than TV because all TV reporters do is “fluff their hair.” I remember him upsetting me on more than one occasion, but now I realize that he was a realist and I respect him for it. The world is a good place, but it is also a nasty, sad, evil place where very upsetting things happen. I was too cheery and idyllic to listen to what he was saying at the ripe age of 22, but I understand it now. Sometimes the news is awful, but someone has to report on it. We should all care, no matter how awful it is—we can’t just stick our heads in the clouds. We should count our blessings and say lots of prayers for those less fortunate.
By the way, if you ever want to see a good movie about the creation of the nuclear bombs that we dropped on Japan in WW2 and what radiation does to you, watch "Fat Man and Little Boy." John Cusack is in it. He touches a reactor or something and his hand swells up.....I can't say anymore. It's nasty. Radiation is nasty stuff, dude.
Here's the Word of the Day:
apposite \AP-uh-zit\, adjective:
Being of striking appropriateness and relevance; very applicable; apt.
No comments:
Post a Comment