Disaster on the rise

Is it just me, or has there been an increase in the number of bizarre and tragic international incidents lately? I am thinking of the collision and capture of the “spy” plane in China, the unfortunate surfacing of the U.S. submarine under a Japanese fishing vessel that killed nine Japanese fishermen (four of them children) and, most recently, the planeful of missionaries shot down over Peru, killing a mother and her daughter. What’s going on? Are people less careful, more fearful, or is it just business as usual in our global pot of agonies and woes?

It is tempting to suspect that our war against Mother Earth has unleashed a wild smack of energy in return. Even the animals are feeling the blow—first with mad cow disease, and now the dreaded hoof and mouth epidemic, which has caused the slaughter of thousands of cows and sheep in Europe.

In any event, countries are, of course, forced to react. Leaders must take a stand, and the one usually postured is a defensive “We didn’t do anything wrong, it was the other guy.” The standoff that resulted from the aircraft collision in Chinese air space, which caused the disappearance of the Chinese pilot into the sea and the capture of the American plane, has weakened the already fragile bond between these two powers. Chinese-American relations are strained, and are likely to remain so for some time.

It’s understandable that, in our cynical and dangerous political world climate, leaders try to keep an edge, to appear strong and decisive, claiming that right is on their side. But what would happen if one country said to the other—“Oops! We goofed. We are so terribly sorry. What can we do to make it up to you?”

In the case of the Japanese fishing vessel, judgment was handed down April against submarine and Navy commander Scott Wattle. He stood before a non-judicial committee and was given a letter of reprimand and early retirement with full pension. It is agreed he will retire from the Navy by October 1.

Is this a just and loving punishment, or a travesty? Certainly for Wattle, a Navy man all his life, things have changed irrevocably. He must ever after live with the shame and guilt that proper procedures were not followed. There were guests on board, apparently working some of the controls, and he was in a hurry to return to shore.

Regarding Wattle’s “punishment,” the Japanese government is outraged, calling for a court martial and jail time.

It’s true that lives were lost, and in the beginning, President Bush and Commander Wattle were not forthcoming in any apologies to Japan and her people. But the U.S. has softened, admitting regret and wrongdoing. Wattle, who spent some childhood years in Japan, plans to return there and meet with the families of those lost. This seems a courageous act. There is no guarantee he will be welcomed in Japan or by the families, who understandably hold a lot of anger. But perhaps the reception he is given is not as important as the act of trying to make amends.

In the last several days, a story has surfaced from Peru that the Peruvian military shot down a plane filled with missionaries. The bullets killed a mother and daughter, and the crash has severely injured a third missionary, who may never walk again. As one would expect, the U.S. is running pell-mell from taking any responsibility for the incident by saying the Peruvians did not follow proper procedure. The Peruvians, who thought the plane was carrying drugs, say they did. The drug war being waged in Latin America is extreme in the absurd—farmers and whole villages being forced into poverty and dissolution by the U.S.-backed disruption of their coca fincas, while Americans continue to snort and smoke cocaine at alarming rates. “We have seen the enemy, and it is us,” should be the new motto for the drug war. Unless we morph into a different species, we are never going to convince people not to take drugs just because they shouldn’t.

But the amazing piece of the Peruvian incident is the reaction of the parents of the mother and daughter. “It is God’s will,” they said, “we do not blame anyone.” Wow! Did I hear that right? No call for revenge, no call for punishment or bloody retribution? Just—acceptance?

We are not good at accepting when bad things happen, although they happen all the time, to everyone. We push and strain at the unjustness of it, trying to find out what we can blame, who is at fault. Imagine the freedom of letting go of all that. Of saying—it is God’s will. By saying it is God’s will we are also saying it is our own will, for we have free will, according to God’s plan. Acceptance and forgiveness are tough nuggets, sometimes out of reach—but how they shine when they are achieved.

— Mary Greene, Associate Editor