Tsunami Death Toll at 116,000

This is unbelievable. Let’s put this number in perspective: 116,000 is more people than the population of Berkeley, CA (110,000); more people than the total attendance for 2004’s Michigan v. Notre Dame game (105,000). It’s larger than all rural towns. And the scary part about this, is the death toll continues to grow.



People try to place The Disaster in biblical perspective. My parents think that some of the countries are being punished for something. I still think that it’s the price we pay as a Global community for the misapplication of technology. We lack a global warning system for these occurences, and it’s not as if there hasn’t been a good reason to have one. It’s just that no one cared to push for the development of one.



Why in the heck do we have to be so stupid as a people? We seem to do “what’s right” only after a crisis. And isn’t it interesting that doing “what’s right” involves saving the lives of many people?



Can I get an Amen?



I hope. I pray. I wish that this is the last time we permit such scenarios to develop. I’ll bet there’s some computer modeler / policy analysis somewhere sitting back and saying “You should have listened to me.” As a person who’s one of them, I can tell you that politicians in general don’t listen well, and society itself is not far ahead of them.



Wake up!