The Winds of Fall Out

Simply utterly amazing is all I can say about the unfolding tragedy in Japan.  The human misery and loss of life is beyond comprehension.  The worlds third largest economic powerhouse is on it's knees with one devastating blow after another.  One reporter likened it to a "trifecta" - first the earthquake, then the tsumami, then the radiological problems.  What makes this natural disaster so different from others is that it is unfolding before our very eyes on the computer monitors.  The bellwether sites of the BBC, CNN, Reuters, MSNBC, amongst others are keeping the world constantly updated.  Additionally, with the advent of all the modern communication devices and digital recorders, we, while in the safety of our homes and offices, are viewing this from a vantage point like no other.  With the internet, real time video streaming and pictures are presenting information of how bad it really is.   Putting aside the economic impact for a moment, recovery from this will be a testament to the millennium old tenacity of the Japanese people.  So many people have lost everything and I mean everything.

Just close your eyes for a moment and imagine the room you are in - one blink of an eye it is there - sitting in your recliner watching TV - the next eye blink - everything and I mean everything is gone.  You have nothing but the clothes on your back and they are probably wet.  It's not like you can go to your neighbors next door for shelter or comfort, because your neighbor is gone too.  The social impact on the family unit is beyond belief - entire families are gone.  There is death and despair everywhere. 

Being at student of Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs, one instant an entire nation is poised at the upper reaches of the pyramid, then suddenly,  the nation is at the base of the pyramid - the lowest level of basic human needs.

We are finding out that this disaster, while confined to Japan, has immense global ramifications.  Sub-sea communications lines are damaged, meaning the "cloud" is unreachable to many or is severely impaired/hampered, Japanese industry - especially the semi-conductor and automotive industry, has been severely impaired, and the nation that is so reliant on nuclear power is now at the mercy of the global petroleum markets.  The fallout from these business disruptions will be global and prices will rise due to the lack of products.  Remember, inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods - classic supply and demand. 

Of course, there is nothing more precious than human life.  Write it down, mark it, asterisk, because it is an absolute truth.  This also reminds me of the seminal book "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl and his theorem that "If you have a why, you can live with any what".


Tonight I will be thankful for everything that I have.

Till next time, see you on down the road.