Prayer Isn't Enough

I kind of like Japan. I know they attacked Pearl Harbor back in December of ‘41, killing 2,400 Americans and bringing us into World War II. But we dropped “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 – killing between 90,000 and 166,000 Japanese in Hiroshima and between 60,000 and 80,000 in Nagasaki – and they ended up surrendering.

Let’s not forget the forced internment in 1942 of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans to “War Relocation Camps” right here in the USA, authorized by FDR himself. (In 1988, St. Ronnie of Reagan apologized for our "race prejudice, war hysteria, and failure of political leadership," and the feds eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations.) The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the nation's industry and infrastructure destroyed. If that’s not sleeping in the bed that you made, I don’t know what is.

Fast forward to yesterday, when Japan was struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit the island nation in recorded history. More than 50 aftershocks and a second earthquake that measured 6.7 were reported. According to CNN, “the 8.9-magnitude earthquake, which was centered near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. Some waves reached six miles inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's east coast.”

Six million households, more than 10 percent of the total in Japan, are without electricity. And the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, located 160 miles north of Tokyo, is experiencing explosions and funny noises that are not normal. Tokyo, the capital city, is home to 36.5 million people.

This is real suffering. Not Charlie Sheen suffering. Not “My-favorite-Starbucks-is-closing” suffering. Japan has made immense contributions to art, music, literature, cuisine and sports. But even if it hadn’t, these are human beings. And we’re all neighbors on Planet Earth. Here’s how you can help your neighbor:

• The American Red Cross has sent help to the most heavily damaged areas of Japan. Cell phone users can donate $10 per message by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

• Doctors Without Borders, or Medecins Sans Frontieres, is sending trained medical personnel into the worst-hit areas. Online donations are encouraged.

• The International Medical Corps offers health care and supplies for earthquake relief. Text MED to 80888.

Sources: CIA World Factbook, CNN, Yahoo.com