Less than 2 weeks ago the citizens of Central Florida were bombarded by Hurricane Charley, which swept through the state causing billions of dollars in damage. For a city like Orlando, which accustomed to avoiding such events, it was a rude awakening to what terror nature can unleash. Now as people evacuate the state in fear of Hurricane Frances, the rest of the country pays no attention.
On the surface, this would make everyone seem rather self-centered in not caring about what happens to other fellow Americans. Unless they have family members or friends living in Florida I doubt they are paying any attention. So what you might ask? Hurricanes happen all the time, it's one of the risks you take living in Florida. While that may be true, as wherever you live, there are risks, but the immediacy in which we cease to pay attention to such catastrophes is what alarms me. For it is not only natural disasters that we ignore, but any event that doesn't directly relate to us specifically from a geographical standpoint.
While no one it seems will ever forget the horrific events of 9/11, more than a few of us has completely forgotten about the Oklahoma City bombings.
A lot of it has to do with where the bombings took place. Oklahoma City. Not exactly the metropolis that New York or Washington DC are for sure. Perhaps that explains or apathy towards that tragedy. Who ever thinks about Oklahoma City outside of native Okies, or perhaps those from Kansas or Texas? Certainly not anyone living in major cities along the East and West Coasts. Prior to 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing was the biggest loss of American lives on American soil since the Civil War. Think about that, in over 120 years of our national history, we never had to deal with such a loss of lives. 161 people perished in the bombings, and for the majority of Americans, it was like we could care less.
Our ignorance or just plain apathy doesn't just relate to our domestic affairs, but internationally as well. Last summer saw a fatal heat wave strike France resulting in thousands of lives being lost, and yet over in the United States, it barely was mentioned. Let us not forget the horrible train bombings in Madrid as well that happened. Unlike our reaction to 9/11, which still is a very important issue to us to this day as evidence by the upcoming elections, the bombings in Madrid were no more news worthy to us than Britney Spears latest dating habits. And yet we wonder why the majority of the world finds Americans to be self-centered. We are.
When we do take the time to worry about something, it is the most trivial of issues that never pan out. Remember the frenzy surrounding the Y2K scare? Nothing happened. More recently, here in New York City, with the RNC hitting town, you'd have thought that aliens were invading the city and that people must evacuate. Meanwhile, my morning commute has not been disrupted at all and aside from the large amounts of police officers on the streets, you'd never even know it was here.
We need to start thinking more outside our insulated world and pay attention to the world at large, both domestically and globally. It is only then that we can begin to be part of peaceful co-existence with other cultures on this planet. You can start today. Follow the path of Hurricane Frances, don't just flip the channel over to a rerun of 'Friends.' Perhaps in seeing how other people cope with disaster you will know how to better react the next you are faced with a similar situation.
