Last night a major earthquake struck Haiti, almost completely destroying its capital city, Port au Prince. Nobody knows how many victims have already died, and it's hard to think about how many are trapped underneath rubble, with no prospect of help reaching them. But it's entirely possible that the numbers of those lost will reach at least 100,000.
Obviously this event is immediately relevant to the issues we have been considering: this is perhaps yet another instance of "natural evil," one that challenges monotheists to come up with an answer/response/theodicy. How much exactly do the Haitians have to go through before the lesson is learned, the test passed, the balance established, the general laws fulfilled? Going back to Rousseau, it also insists that we consider the human role in such disasters. That a place is so impoverished and its buildings so badly constructed suggests that what we call natural evil is largely a species of moral evil.
Feel free to comment however you see fit...
It shocks me to see how different my opinion is now vs. Monday or even hours before I knew of the disaster. While the Holocaust was terrifying and horrific there was the merciful division of time that kept me a little ways away from the event. Again with Rwanda I was not at an age that contemplating the meaning f such an event was possible. I am not saying this to diminish the terrifying power those events had on the world, but I see, in light of yesterdays event, how removed I let myself be from them. There is something about actually watching these things unfold, hour by awful hour, that connects you with it. I’ve been following the Haiti earthquake and trying to wrap my head around the different ways in which these philosophers would have us respond and I must confess myself impotent. I can’t be like Pope and say ‘what is, is Right,” or Sextus and think “Don’t take it personally,” or Rousseau and state “They shouldn’t have built houses in areas if large Quake activity,” or Augustine and believe “The few suffer for the betterment of the whole.”
ReplyDeleteThere is something about the closeness of occurring events, I imagine as Voltaire felt, which makes them infinitely more personal. I can’t think of the whole when possibly 100,000 or more people have died in the wake of the largest earthquake ever recorded on earth. I am, however, grateful for response our government gave, almost immediately, to send human aid to those trapped, suffering or surviving. I am also overjoyed to see communities such as NPR.com, Twitter and Facebook meticulously spread awareness of these events and rally support for relief. I am grateful for the technology that allowed us to communicate with millions of people instantaneously and then again humbled by the response of charity.
I am still thinking about all that has happened and how it applies to our class, and confess myself speechless that such an awful event would occur while I am enrolled in a class designed to inspect and discuss evil in man and nature…
I also cannot entertain, for even the briefest of moments, the mindset of people like Pat Robertson who spew bile about the Haitian’s deserving God’s Retribution as punishment for making a pact with Satan in exchange for the disbandment of the French Occupation in the 1790’s...
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe such a terrible thing has happened in Haiti. People in Haiti are already experiencing suffering because of their impoverished living situation, and God has placed this evil of an earthquake upon them? If I had to choose one philosopher we learn about in class, I would have to agree with Voltaire. Right now imagining what has happened as “whatever is, is right” like Pope said, is morally wrong. We can’t think of this situation in a big picture because so many people have died from what has happened. It’s also horrifying for me to think that my family who live in the Dominican Republic could have been a part of this traumatic earthquake.
ReplyDeleteHaiti after they disbanded from the French, they received no help when they were struggling. So now that this tragedy has struck, this abandoned country has suddenly come to everyone's attention and people are "coming to their aid", but think of the cost?! That it has taken to get the world's attention? Some may find the good in this evil. As if in the "bigger scheme" of things, it took this event to shed light on a country that needs our help. But right now I find it a pretty weak argument to me because they needed us before, but now it's almost too late because many people have died that can no longer be helped when they needed it before. I'm feeling a little more symphathy for voltaire's argument. Its an outrage
ReplyDeleteIts especially an outrage and I do not find it "nice" that all these celebrity people that are "giving". Larry King is announcing all these people who are giving money to various organizations to help
The New York Yankees are giving a half of a million dollars. Derek Jeeter gets payed 21 Million Dollars a year and that is just a small sliver of the Yankee organization. Really?! And other celebrities who are feeling obligated to give and obligated to BROADCAST that giving. That in itself could also be considered evil on a different scale. Giving as part of an expectation, something that will "suffice", lets contribute to say we contributed then hands off. Many other assumptions such as a publicity bolstering excersise, but then again no one can really say what motivates these people and organizations to give but I can't help but make inferences.
It was hard to believe that yet again something distructive has happend to our world and in this case, Haiti. It became more real when I saw the actual pictures of people trying to get out of the rubble or dead bodies lying around. These bodies were there because there is destruction amongst the small country. Personally, it is not something that we can blame one person, like the Rwanda genocide, where there was a culprite. And I don't know if I still agree with natural evil because that would argue that God allowed it and I personally am still struggling with the thought that there is a God; one who would allow such earthquakes as Tuesday or allow the malicious killings in Rwanda.
ReplyDeleteWhen hearing about the disaster that struck Haiti, this class is the first thing that came to my mind. Having just spent the last week or so discussing "natural evil," I was given an immediate example as to what exactly this means. It is often difficult to conceptualize these disasters years later, even in instances such as Hurricane Katrina that were only a few years ago. There is a certain level of detachment associated with these disasters when they are so far removed from you and horrible to sit down and think about. It is much easier to be numb. After watching the film about the genoside in Rwanda in class today, I decided that I was in an appropriate state of mind to look through pictures and clips of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti and think about it. Truly think about it. And think about it in regard to the discussions we have been having in this class about the "problem" of evil. I haven't developed an original theodicy, by any means but this is one of those instances where "it just isn't right." How could any God allow this to happen?
ReplyDeletePrior to this earthquake, I must admit that I was leaning toward agreeing with Pope in thinking that "whatever is, is right." I now am seeing the effects of this disaster and the thousands of innocent people either dead or suffering and I can no longer say that. This is not right.
Where does the accountability lie as far as the people who built inadequate buildings? Where is the accountability in the observer of the evil? Are we, as American's, partially accountable for not "giving" or helping financially to enable an impoverished country to build stable structures?
What happened in Haiti is absolutely horrible and really just difficult to understand. Rousseau can say "they shouldn't have built the buildings like that" all he wants, but it will always lead back to being caused by a moral evil. If Haiti had had the funding to build more structurally equipped buildings, I'm sure that may have happened. Its a natural evil on top of thousands of other moral evils. A place with so many people shouldn't be so helpless. It's evil for those with the ability to help, not to and it's always situations like this that determine how horrible the outcome is.
ReplyDeleteIn regards in "natural evil". I think that if we're talking about evil, we should look at the moral evil. The natural evil is not really something that we have complete control over. We do, however, have control over our actions and in caring about what is going on in the world, we can raise awareness and at best, maybe even go and help the relief programs. I was watching the news this morning about Haiti and in seeing the videos of the Haitian people in such a broken down environment, I them helping each other. Why not focus on all of the good that can come out of this instead of all of the bad that has happened? We are fortunate enough to have the ability to look at it from a more optimistic view and I think that if we take advantage of the fortunate lives we are given, we can makes those who are less fortunate, happier.
ReplyDelete-Vanessa Norkus
It's almost discouraging to think that God would allow this misfortune to happen to this country, a country that is already suffering enough. I do believe that there is a God but I do not believe that He is allowing this suffering to happen because of some of kind of sin this country has done. I honestly feel that because of this misfortune something good could potentially come from this evil.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elise when she said that experiencing a tragedy makes it's impact on you that much more powerful. I mean, it's apparent by the way that students in this class have changed their minds from before Haiti when they agreed with Pope to after Haiti, when they are leaning more with Voltaire. It's not a moral fallacy to not be able to empathize with a situation that you have only heard about. I mean, I am passionate about Katrina because I was directly affected- New Orleans may have been flooded but the Mississippi Gulf Coast was completely wiped out... I mean COMPLETELY wiped out, nothing left except the concrete slabs where houses once stood. Which brings me to the notion of sanctioned publicity and aid...
ReplyDeleteWho or what decides when an area is in need of help? I mean, Haiti was in desperate need of aid before the earthquake. What constitutes a "time of need?" Is it the loss of 15 people, 1,000 people? 50,000 people? There are so many areas in the world that are in desperate need of help, for example-
"There are 1 billion people in the world that don't have access to clean drinking water. More children have died from diarrhea than people have been killed in war an conflict since WWII. A child dies every 8 seconds from drinking dirty water"-colin beavan
So, where is the evil? Is it in the extremely fast, massively publicized natural disaster? Or is the banality of evil much, much more sinister- that being, the quiet, constant killing of children from dirty water?
People (and this is a gross generalization, but hear me out) love a good tragedy- they love a distraction from their normal lives, an excuse to "give" and feel good about themselves, or, as in the case of Pat Robertson, a way to legitimize blatant racist remarks and beliefs. But when it comes to "real" evil- that is, the way that we (as a human race) allow a child to die every 8 seconds from dirty water, nobody organizes. Nobody publicizes. Nobody sends relief. There is no way to text to send $5 for clean water. This, to me, is not an act of God. This evil is an act of man through the belief that some lives are just worth more than others.
I am not trying to say that what happened in Haiti isn't horrible. And the fact that so many countries are so close yet they aren't helping is a tragedy. Poverty is a killer, not God. (And besides, I don't even believe in the traditional, Christian, anthropomorphic version of "God".)
Common, everyday, sanctioned neglect, like what was going on in Haiti before the earthquake and like what is going on RIGHT NOW with the children dying from diarrhea is where the evil is, and this, to me, does not pose a threat to the goodness of God. It seems to speak directly to the evil of us, as humans. God is not a scapegoat. I think it's time that we took a good, hard look at ourselves...
-nicole luna
I think it is horrifying that there are people out there that are saying that Haiti deserved this earthquake. they deserve to suffer. No one deserves to suffer. I don't think this helps any master plan that god might have. With this example I stick firmly with Voltaire. I think Rousseau's opinion doesn't really apply here. He would say the people should have built the city better. The thing is, is that the people of Haiti are so poor that they could not afford to build any different. Even if they did build differently. Having nicer buildings would not have saved the Haitians from damage in an earthquake this size. Less people will have died for sure, but the city would still be a mess.
ReplyDeleteIn class we mentioned Pat Robertson and his insane blabbering on national television- along those lines I wanted to share this letter from Satan addressing the issue of his supposed involvement in the Haiti earthquake.
ReplyDeleteDear Pat Robertson,
I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.
Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.
You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.
Best, Satan
-- this letter was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune written by Lily Coyle.
This is a side note but it is related to our in-class discussion today... I thoroughly believe that journalists have a right to fully display to the public what is actually occurring in the heat of a disaster. As hard it is to watch, we are not the one's suffering therefore, we need to be selfless and open our eyes reality. What are your thoughts??
ReplyDelete-Kathleen Voss
I have to agree with Kathleen with this one- but as always I believe there is a line that stands to be crossed. Many people prefer to remain ignorant of situations outside of our own and I'd challenge anyone who says showing pictures of a natural disaster is intrusive to take a look at any celebrity gossip rag. We don't want to take advantage of people outside the States but we are perfectly willing to do so when it comes to American citizens? When newspapers start taking the facts reporters gather and spin them to make money this is where the line has been crossed. I think it has to be a little more 'all or nothing' in this situation, we cannot be selectively outraged by the media's greed- it makes the argument hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteI can't help asking how many times things like this have to happen before an efficient, well planned strategy is created. It just seems like there has to be a better solution, of course that's easier said than done. But it just seems so unfair to these people that have been suffering a living hell for years and years to just get screwed over doubly, and left with less than they had before.
ReplyDeleteA little bit of positivity from the situation: because of all the attention Haiti and its' orphans have been getting in the news etc, worldwide more and more children are being adopted. A glimpse of hope for at least some of the survivors!
It is awful that another natural evil has occured in the world. It's also hard to believe that it has taken so long for relief efforts to get down to Haiti. Fireman from the United States can get there the next day, but relief efforts take longer.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that people in Haiti right now may be questioning God and why this earthquake has occured. If Pope had an opinion on this piece, he would believe that God caused this earthquake for a reason, and he would believe that it was right. Voltaire on the other hand would question Gods existence. Because if God is really out there, than why are these bad things happening to seemingly good people. But like during the Holocaust, some people must look to God because he is the only hope they have.
Elise-
ReplyDeleteYou are completely right. There is definitely a line that should be established and not crossed. Media and television choose to exploit what they want but often times it is the celebrity media that outweighs the truth. This reminds me when people were saying "You know, celebrities aren't real people" in class, and it easily relates to our discussion. Just as these "celebrities" don't seem real to us, neither do the news surrounding them. I wish we could look at the real problems in life and stop worrying about Heidi Montag's ten recent plastic surgeries!!! My friend posted a Haitian relief link on his Facebook along with this quote that really hit home..."When life’s problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate"
-Kathleen Voss
The tragedy of Haiti was certainly a devastation and when it happended, it made me think of Rousseau. His approach to such disastrous events were that maybe the construction of the buildings should have been built better and this would have been prevented. I can understand where he is coming from but it is still no reason for why this happend to all of these innocent people.
ReplyDeleteI wish that there was more that we could do then just send money. I wish that we could go in volunteer groups and help with finding people and giving food and water. Also, to help in rebuilding Haiti and doing preventative work.
The disaster that hit Haiti has been so humbling for the entire world. Not only have we seen so many tragic images of death and suffering, but this event has hit a impoverished country that we have otherwise failed to support in the past. I don't think it is entirely correct to say that there has been nothing done for Haiti or that they have been completely ignored thus far. More national and international services have been devoted to this country in the past decade than most. What I think is most troubling is that even with all the alleged help that the world has given Haiti over the years, it still has not fixed their problems. We as humans can only do so much to help each other and when something as catastrophic as this earthquake hits, we fully become aware of much our power pales in comparison to the natural world.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the earthquake was an act of evil or even this idea of "natural evil." This event was natural, embedded in a greater system that keeps this world living. Is our world evil? Similar to a terrorist attack, we scramble to find the force at fault or point out the "evil" at hand. It is hard and terrifying for humans to see something so much stronger than us and pointing the finger is an easy coping strategy. What happened is awful, tragic, and heartbreaking, but not necessarily "evil."
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ReplyDeleteI is a terrible thing which has happened to Haiti, but the unfortunted thing is Haiti's standing as a country even before this earthquake. Far before the Earthquake, much of their country lived in complete and udder poverty before the event, just to think about what the people of Haiti are going through now is hard to fatuim, To think how one event can change the whole landscape and goals of a group of people is terrible. But on the other hand it is reassuing because of the fast response to the earthquake.
ReplyDelete