apocalyptic nightmare
last saturday afternoon, laced with several intermitten outings with my dog, i spent most of my time watching the discovery channel. discovery is one of those channels that if i should ever be stranded on a deserted island and with a stroke of luck, had access to one cable channel, discovery would be the winner, with the food network coming in close second.
as most people know, american chopper, deadliest catch and occasionally an episode of mythbusters are the core portions of my discovery channel intake. however, the saturday in question had a marathon of my secret passion: doomsday documentaries and docudramas. an alarmingly unhealthy helping of supervolcanoes, killer meteors, supertsunamis, earthquakes, and yet i was content. scientific speculations in this form don’t cause me anxiety nor a parade of “what ifs” in my mind. as previously written, i merely wonder how humankind would perform under extreme circumstances, particularly those thrust upon us by dear ol’ mother nature, bless her heart.
then it seemed, my profound preoccupation with projections and the worst nature can throw at us seemed to come true.
now amid the throes of katrina’s wrath, thanks to streaming video and cnn’s 24-hour coverage, i can see nearly first-hand how humankind is fairing as the terrible-to-worse circumstances unravel in the south. (i’m sad to say that i failed to follow as closely in the wake of the south asian tsumamis last december, which in my mind’s eye, is still more catastrophic considering the immense loss of life.)
the water is tainted, people have nothing, tempers are flairing.
and not surprisingly, the folks in the south have plunged into survival mode. i’m certainly not in agreement with the looting and shooting, but given the dire situation, you have to wonder about the mental and psychological depletion that is causing, well, these barbaric and subhuman tendencies. all to stay alive.
the economic ramifications are fierce among the devastation. but i’m certain our resilience will abound. but not without help. give just a little.