Catastrophe: If there was ever a more unfathomable disaster than Japan's huge earthquake, horrific tsunami and nuclear meltdown, we have yet to see it. But the courage and dignity of the Japanese people transcended it.
The world watched helplessly as a 9.0 earthquake hammered Japan's coast, and a tsunami's massive wall of black sludge spread its fingers across the northeast coast of Japan.
The incredible tsunami footage showed giant ships, cargo containers, houses, trains and cars flung around like toys. Bullet trains went missing and refineries went up in flames.
Worse still, there were explosions at nuclear plants. All along, Japan's pitiful survivors are without food, electricity, water, cell phones and gasoline in a freezing winter.
Despite the magnitude of these catastrophes, the Japanese so far are surmounting it, showing what hope is.
Common wisdom holds that nations that prepare for earthquakes do better than nations that don't. But Japan doesn't have merely good earthquake preparation; it has the best in the world.
None of this mattered in a disaster of this magnitude.
The nuclear situation saddens too. Seven decades ago, Japan went to war for control of conventional energy resources like oil. Embracing peace, Japan adopted nuclear energy to show it had ended its thirst for resources.
Now, the country faces a nuclear meltdown at three reactors amid fears of possible contamination.
Nature seemed to mock Japan's technology prowess.
The floating houses, business offices and cars were likely full of gleaming high-tech devices that were about to be turned into sludge. Japan's famed animators who pioneered disaster movies never imagined what nature could do until this week. And Japan's renowned cameras recorded it for the world.
Japan became the second-richest nation in the world despite being endowed with very few resources. This natural disaster is a cruel reminder that, at least in geography and resources, Japan remains poor.
But it's that very element of this disaster that shows that the most important aspect of the Japanese isn't their brilliance or their wealth, but their character.
They showed dignity and courage against nature's hardest blow, pulling together as a nation. The unaffected reached out to help, and victims refrained from mayhem and looting.
Little things tell stories: Store owners gave away bottled water and citizens lined up patiently and peacefully instead of fighting for advantage. Citizens shared their gasoline rations with the needy.
These acts are important because they're the only things that can make sense of a tragedy like this. The worst places on earth are those where senseless and casual killing take place. Ask any African or Colombian or Mexican what hopelessness is — and it's not Japan.
Japan may be dealing with an unimaginable disaster, but its people aren't acting as if they have lost hope.
That is one thing nature cannot mock. Japan's response can only be praised for that.
