3/14… Pi Day.
Discussion on 8Asians on this nonsensical (to me, anyway) debate on whether Japan “deserves” its situation (8Asians says this is a silly debate too).
NYTimes.com opinion section recently did a link to this William Safire column that he did during the time of the Indonesian tsunami, which I think is profoundly applicable for current events:
In the aftermath of a cataclysm, with pictures of parents sobbing over dead infants driven into human consciousness around the globe, faith-shaking questions arise: Where was God? Why does a good and all-powerful deity permit such evil and grief to fall on so many thousands of innocents? What did these people do to deserve such suffering? [….]
Job’s lessons for today:
(1) Victims of this cataclysm in no way “deserved” a fate inflicted by the Leviathanic force of nature.
(2) Questioning God’s inscrutable ways has its exemplar in the Bible and need not undermine faith.
(3) Humanity’s obligation to ameliorate injustice on earth is being expressed in a surge of generosity that refutes Voltaire’s cynicism.
How Japan’s religions have a role in dealing with the tragedy.
Perhaps it’s important to remember, more than ever, what Conan O’Brien said about not succumbing to cynicism. Praying for the best to come out of Japan and the rest of the world, now more than ever.