Do Not Forget Catastrophes

Do Not Forget Catastrophes

I’m going to try to not get too political here so please bear with me as I thread that needle.

Thirty-Five years ago today, literally today April 26th reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant had a catastrophic meltdown resulting in vast loss of life and incredibly ecological damage to the environment.

It stands as a warning, I feel, of the hubris of government and the damage that can be done when a government prioritizes their reputation and what they WANT to be true over what IS true.

It is also a testament to the nobility of the human spirit and what amazing things we can do when working together and sacrificing ourselves for others. I am reminded of the old men who took on the duty of trying to cool the Fukushima reactor knowing the radiation would kill them.

That’s why it’s so important that we do not forget these catastrophe’s. We must learn from them so as not to repeat tragedy and that we honor the loss.

Reminds me of a phrase I once heard. “Our regulations are written in blood”. That all those funny little rules like “don’t transport nuclear material on school busses” exist because someone did, and people died.

Unfortunately we as a people, human beings, human society, have this habit of forgetting the details of these major events and glossing over them to remember the big points. We remember THAT there was a nuclear disaster but WHY there was a disaster gets ignored, particularly if it’s going to make someone look bad.

That means it falls to us to remember, to inform our peers and those learning from us.

This is a somber day, but one of many, and too many such days are rapidly fading from memory. And it diminishes us all to allow them to do so.

Let us remember the sacrifices of those who’ve come before us, that those who come after need not repeat them.

Thank you and God bless;

~S. Wallace