Life: A Series of Sudden or Great Misfortunes
By Diane E. Sentgeorge
Webster broadly
defines disaster this way: “a sudden or
great misfortune or failure.” By that
definition, life is full of disasters. Not
all disasters reach the scale of the Oklahoma
City bombing or the September 11, 2001 attacks, but all of
them affect
peoples’ lives. The news shows us the
effects of natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes,
etc. on a
regular basis. In an age of ever
increasing acts of terrorism, at least once a week we see car bombs
that have
exploded in one city or another, often taking the lives of innocent
bystanders. Yes, those events are
disastrous, but what about the people all across the country, and the
world,
that experience “a sudden (or great) misfortune” each and everyday?
Hundreds of
thousands of people call 9-1-1
everyday. A man wakes to find his wife
lying dead beside him. A farmer watches as
his tractor and, more
importantly, his son are sucked into a manure pond.
A garbage truck driver unintentionally runs
over his partner, crushing his femur. A
distracted driver slams into a child crossing the street on their way
home from
school. A daughter sits by watching her
father dying of acute leukemia; three days ago he was a healthy, vital
man, but
today he can’t even breathe without pain. A
businessman watches his entire world fall apart because
of one bad
financial decision. All of these people
consider their experience a disaster, a sudden or great misfortune.
If you ask these
people about the threat of terrorism, they
would more than likely tell you it is the least of their worries. Terrorism has existed since 1200 BC when the
Greeks sent the Trojans at the city of Troy
a gift. It is nothing new just different. It should be expected as society continues to
become more self-centered and less able or willing to communicate
effectively. Many believe we will never
see a “low” (green) national threat level nor do they expect to see
“guarded”
(blue) for any notable period of time. Being
alert to terrorism has become a way of life, and
life goes on.
We must go on, all
of us, living and serving. Yes, somewhere
in the back of your mind is
the possibility of a terror attack, but for the most part the concern
is here
and now. How do we make it through
today? Having plans and resources in
place is important no matter the size of the “disaster,” but if we
constantly
focus on what could or might happen and forget to live in what is
happening,
life will pass us by in a flurry of missed opportunities and “elevated”
alert
levels.
Some days EMS
still stands for “earn
money sleeping.” Firemen, paid and
volunteer alike, still save pets in peril. The
town cops still meet at the gas station on the corner
and shoot the breeze.
The DOT plow is still always on the other side of the road going the
other way.
The federal guys still walk around in dark suits and ties with
“invisible”
earpieces and sleeve mics. “Scene
safety” is still the first step in evaluating incident response. Being observant still saves lives. Courtesy may not be common anymore, but it
still matters. And a smile still has the
power to brighten someone’s day.
Disasters of all
shapes and sizes wait for us around every
turn, they always have and they always will. You
can only do so much prevention and mitigation. In
the end, the most important thing is still
that we each come home safe and whole at the end of the day.