I received this little forward by e-mail this morning from a friend of mine and thought it was quite interesting. We could learn a lot from this 10 points that describe a nation and the resolve of the people in the face of adversity and national calamity. Kudos to the people of Japan who have not made such a public drama and have just got on with their lives after the Tsunami has destroyed half their country.
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1. THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
2. THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
3. THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn't fall.
4. THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
5. THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
6. THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
7. THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
8. THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
9. THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
10. THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.
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On the other hand, while driving to work this morning I heard on the radio how people were preparing to take the day off to watch what they're calling the match of the Century. Today's Semi Final Match of the ICC World Cup between India an Pakistan at Mohali is driving a nation to the brink of standstill. Even the Prime Minister is making time to watch the match with his Pakistani counterpart. How about that?
One Nation carries on with life after a Great Tsunami tries to bring it to its knees while another Nation is brought to a stand still due to a Cricket Match!
totally loved the article.. just goes to show how much more we need to learn from the japanese apart from their technology.. :)
ReplyDeleteThat defines the places where India and Japan stand now and why....really they can teach us too many things
ReplyDeleteA lesson which we all should take from the crisis in Japan is to double our efforts in the conservation of energy in our every day life. If each of us take a small step in this direction we will reduce our dependency on hazadous Nuclear Energy until we find more and better ways of using renewable forms of energy :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteHey come on...these are two unrelated things. Agreed Japan is more disciplined and resilient but that does not mean we should not enjoy watching India beat Pakistan.
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