Tragedy in the Land of the Rising Sun

I want to dedicate this post to the victims of the recent devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the very land that gave "tsunami" its name.

The destruction caused by this disaster has left me truly overwhelmed, but equally amazed at how the Japanese people are handling the situation. Without making comparisons, it's evident that the response differs greatly from what we witnessed during the earthquake in Haiti. It led me to wonder if there might be another version of "We Are the World" in the works to aid our Japanese neighbors. Maybe they'll replace the "ha-ha-haiti-haiti" line with something like "a-a-a-arigato gozai mas." But joking aside, it is our duty to do whatever we can to assist them. It's the least we can do for a nation that has given us innovations like hentai and PlayStation.

I also have a message for our local news programs. Can we please consider adjusting our reporting formats? Every time a disaster strikes overseas, it seems like the focus is solely on whether Filipinos were involved. While it's true that Filipinos can be found all over the world, it becomes somewhat absurd if we only express concern when fellow Filipinos are affected by tragedies. I don't mean to sound unpatriotic, but it's akin to crying your heart out at someone else's wake for the loss of your own loved one. The least we can do is show equal compassion for all the people, not just our fellow countrymen, who have been impacted by these tragedies. Unfortunately, I don't see this balanced approach being reflected in our local news coverage.

These are thoughts worth contemplating.