The Calm – Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
The Dignity – Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
The Ability – The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
The Grace – People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
The Order – No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
The Sacrifice – Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
The Tenderness – Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
The Training – The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
The Media – They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
The Conscience – When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.
Yea, we can all take notes for how to act in a crisis situation! May God bless Japan as they recover from this earthquake!
Will it be appropriate if I may call it as a single virtue “resilience” of the nation?
These attitudes form part of their value systems instilled in them from birth. Part of their Buddhist heritage. “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any man” (Proverbs). We need to pray that we also become clothed with the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.