These natural disasters are accepted events in our life on our changing and unstable planet and even with all our technology we cannot prevent these disasters from happening. The best we can do is to improve our readiness and rescue and response plans for such disasters.

To put tragedies in a different light and help us to cope with the emotional scars of such events, let us look at how these have brought out the best in mankind.

After the tragedy of hurricane Katrina we saw white-only towns in Texas willingly accept African Americans escaping the storm’s devastation and we stood in proud astonishment when the Rainbow Coalition provided food and shelter to the right wing citizens in small Mississippi towns.

We recall the football stadium where people donated what they could to victims and those families who gladly opened their doors to those who had lost everything in the wake of the disaster.

Lastly we salute those who volunteered to bring food, blankets, drinking water and generators to the affected areas with move speed and dedication and absent of the politics of the Federal government.

All of us have potential to become better than what we are now and sometimes it takes destruction, anguish and utter desolation for us to realize this. During these times we should strive to change our self-centered, unremarkable lives to become much greater than we are and to become heroes in our own ways.

It should be during times of disaster where we look past economics and politics and rather thought of the needs of others. We do not wish these disasters and its ensuing pain and suffering to befall anyone but, when it happens, it is a chance for mankind to go beyond selfishness and prove that during times of disaster we can stand as one.