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Reeling from National Disasters
I woke with a start on that Tuesday morning. I don’t usually wake up that early, either, just before 6 a.m., but I was wide awake, so I turned on the TV. As I watched the screen, I felt like I’d been hit by a two-by-four. Commentators were opining on what had just happened, but I only caught snatches of what they said as I watched smoke pour from a New York skyscraper. What? Who? When? were the questions attacking my brain.
Like many people I spent many days in shock, trying to comprehend the 9/11 attacks. I spent that first day praying for the people who were trapped in the towers, as they predicted tens of thousands may have died. My husband was out of town, and we realized it might be several days before he could fly home. He assured me that it would be safer than ever, since the airlines would be on hyper alert. All I could think about were the people who were killed or who were devastated emotionally. And that my husband was not home to hold me in his arms.
That evening I had a dinner planned with a friend. On the way to the restaurant, I had to fill up my car with gas, so I stopped at a gas station. I was still in a daze, and as I filled the tank, I heard a voice. A black fellow one lane over was calling out to me and said, very simply, “It’ll be okay.” I slowly nodded my head with a slight smile, wondering if anything would ever be the same.
This country has experienced its share of disasters or near disasters. Now we are in the middle of other disasters: the pandemic and rioters in the streets. I was at our gym the other day, and I was on the treadmill, wearing a mask to reassure those who were very much afraid. A woman two treadmills over caught my eye and asked if I could breathe with the mask on (she wasn’t wearing one), that she couldn’t breathe when wearing one, and I said I was getting used to it. Then I reassured her that I wore it mainly for those who were so afraid, and that I was fine with the fact that she chose not to wear a mask. That I believed everyone had to make their own decision regarding masks. She replied that her sister had to wear a mask all day long at work. I replied that I couldn’t imagine wearing one the entire day. What was satisfying about our exchange was that she might have started out feeling defensive about choosing not to wear a mask, and we ended our conversation empathizing and appreciating that we could each make the choice that was best for us. In these times where people feel alienated from each other, our chat was a welcome relief.
Finally, I continue to be stunned at the rioting in the streets, watching people being kicked and beaten, windows broken and buildings burned. I live in the United States of America: how can this devastation and cruelty be happening in 2020? Most recently Denver had riots—I lived near Denver! I’ve come to a few conclusions about the people who are acting like primitives, and those of us who are trying to make sense of their behavior.
The people who are destroying property and attacking people are unhappy people. Even more, they have no meaning or purpose in their lives. I can barely contemplate the tragedy of people who must find purpose by ruining the lives of others. It is beyond comprehension. For now, I have given up trying to make sense of it.
But for those of us who are reeling from these events, I can offer these thoughts. We are all resilient in some valued and poignant ways. We will come back from these times. We will find our way forward and try to comfort those around us who may struggle for months, even years. We will trust that, somehow, we will learn something about human nature, those who try to extinguish their unhappiness through violence, and we will learn that we are stronger than we might have ever believed.
We may be reeling now, but we will rise above these times.
And we will help each other through them.
Published in Group Writing
Beautiful. And true. This too shall pass.
Thanks, @Maguffin. I mentioned on another post that I can’t get past how surreal everything feels. I have moments when life feels true, especially if I stay home. This is where normal is.
Yes. I’ve been trying to go back to personal touch stones more lately and pay less attention to the overall goings-on. Not no attention as one needs to be informed, but at the moment the best course of action I can take is to be the best person I can be in my local, family, and personal life, not let my anger get the best of me, and keep ready. Oh, and vote of course.
I’m failing miserably, but it’s good to have goals.
Beautiful. Of course, we all fail at times because we are human. But to aspire to be the best person you can be–that is a self-less goal that many people would never even think about. So we do our best. Sometimes we screw up, and maybe we can learn from that mess. And then we try again. That’s an important part of my life, too. Thanks.
The big challenge in the statement with which I agree, is who is “we”? I am put in mind of the Abraham Lincoln quote:
If by suicide it is because of the division of “we”. To prevail it must become “we”/”they” and it is terrible to imagine fighting with a “they” that we thought were part of “we”. America has resilience as long as it has traditional American values. If those are discarded, so too is the resilience.
I want to be optimistic. Maybe it is still true that as Otto von Bismarck said
Pray that remains true.
I pray every day. Thanks, @rodin.
on 9/11, I was happily in my office with the door closed coding away on some problem or another. One of my team knocked on my door and told me about the 2nd tower. I hadn’t heard anything. After that, we gathered on one room and listened to the radio. Our office was about 2 miles from Dulles Airport, so was in a potentially targeted area.
After that, I have listened to the radio almost constantly. We live far enough in the country that the recent violence probably won’t hit us for a while, but I feel that these internal attacks are fundamentally different from the external attacks of 9/11.
I agree. I think we all have no idea where the violence will erupt. Thanks.
Check!
Check!
I’m ‘Murican, so it looks like I got a hat trick!
The trifecta of blessedness.
Wonderful post. Thank you.
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