I was moved by the story of the Japanese workers that are wrestling with a grave choice: to jump into radioactive – drenched areas of the nuclear plant stricken by tsunami to stop massive leaks and prevent further devastation to the Japanese people, or honor the cries of family members begging them not to take the risk. Big money is the sure reward, but the cost is well-calculated in advance: one’s life.
Exposure to the astronomical levels of radiation, even for a short time, is sure to bring death as the result of radiation sickness or cancer.
I am first saddened that the tragedy, which already engulfed thousands of lives, now calls for more. I am sickened when I imagine the agony of the families surrounding those that make the choice. I cower when imagining my yellow response to such an offer.
But, further, I am astounded at those Japanese men that, beyond obligation or duty, want to do this. One man quoted in a news article expresses, “…….Ordinarily I’d consider it a dream job.” He further states he ultimately declined after his wife begged him not to. What was behind his desire to jump? For those that accept the offer, could money possibly be the strongest enticement?
I am struck by the transcendent will that overpowers life-preservation. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, survival is the first need –before others higher up on the pyramid such as morality, achievement, and respect for others. The will to survive, as is generally accepted in the field of psychology, trumps all other human needs and wants. If this is true, how does one account for modern-day samurai jumpers that choose to sacrifice their lives for their country, for honor, or for some other purpose higher than survival? This dichotomy eerily paints the picture of life; brush stroking images beyond that of physical body preservation. Life must be more than survival. Human beings must want more than to physically subsist.
We see this tension lived out in everyday life in less dramatic ways – simply holding a job to pay the bills – to survive – isn’t enough. To have purpose, significance; to carry out some mission of honor, these things are our underlying ache as we punch in and out to fulfill the bottom rungs of the pyramid – food, clothing, health, safety. We live in the tension of doing what we must do to survive and further carrying out some higher mission. Sometimes the two have a symbiotic relationship, and sometimes they seem to compete when our jobs don’t give us that sense of accomplishing something which has a higher purpose. Could this be the magnetic force that draws these honorable Japanese men to punch in to such a heroic workday while sacrificing the ability to punch out?
Am I hanging white-knuckled on the edge in the name of self-preservation to my life, or to my death? Must I lose it in order to save it? It seems the jumpers, although jumping to their death, are strangely seeking to jump to life.—alg
Exposure to the astronomical levels of radiation, even for a short time, is sure to bring death as the result of radiation sickness or cancer.
I am first saddened that the tragedy, which already engulfed thousands of lives, now calls for more. I am sickened when I imagine the agony of the families surrounding those that make the choice. I cower when imagining my yellow response to such an offer.
But, further, I am astounded at those Japanese men that, beyond obligation or duty, want to do this. One man quoted in a news article expresses, “…….Ordinarily I’d consider it a dream job.” He further states he ultimately declined after his wife begged him not to. What was behind his desire to jump? For those that accept the offer, could money possibly be the strongest enticement?
I am struck by the transcendent will that overpowers life-preservation. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, survival is the first need –before others higher up on the pyramid such as morality, achievement, and respect for others. The will to survive, as is generally accepted in the field of psychology, trumps all other human needs and wants. If this is true, how does one account for modern-day samurai jumpers that choose to sacrifice their lives for their country, for honor, or for some other purpose higher than survival? This dichotomy eerily paints the picture of life; brush stroking images beyond that of physical body preservation. Life must be more than survival. Human beings must want more than to physically subsist.
We see this tension lived out in everyday life in less dramatic ways – simply holding a job to pay the bills – to survive – isn’t enough. To have purpose, significance; to carry out some mission of honor, these things are our underlying ache as we punch in and out to fulfill the bottom rungs of the pyramid – food, clothing, health, safety. We live in the tension of doing what we must do to survive and further carrying out some higher mission. Sometimes the two have a symbiotic relationship, and sometimes they seem to compete when our jobs don’t give us that sense of accomplishing something which has a higher purpose. Could this be the magnetic force that draws these honorable Japanese men to punch in to such a heroic workday while sacrificing the ability to punch out?
Am I hanging white-knuckled on the edge in the name of self-preservation to my life, or to my death? Must I lose it in order to save it? It seems the jumpers, although jumping to their death, are strangely seeking to jump to life.—alg
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