They say "shit happens!" But does it happen in a vacuum?!
November, 2023
Kam Zarrabi
Earthquakes happen quite suddenly and unpredictably. Yes, we know that sooner or later sudden ruptures in earth's crust will take place along a fault zone, but we don't know exactly when or in what intensity to take the necessary precautions. And, when a huge spring is pressed down to its limit, it will either break and fall apart, or spring back violently overcoming that intolerable pressure.
Am I trying to make a point here? Yes, I am!
God, or nature if you will, would not call a devastating rupture along a fault zone an "unprovoked" earthquake. Relentless unrelieved pressure by the movements of massive blocks of earth's crust, or the upward swelling of molten magma, does inevitably result in geologic events that could be catastrophic, whether in major earthquakes, tsunamis, or volcanic eruptions.
Our most experienced geo-scientists equipped with the latest sophisticated tools of science cannot predict, even approximately, when an earthquake or a super-volcano eruption might take place. However, in human events that predictability is much more clearly detectable and preventable.
Several catastrophic human caused tragedies in more recent times might help prove this point: To name a few, consider the drought stricken and war-torn devastation inflicting over six million Somalis suffering mass starvation and disease; over a million are sick or starving near death in Yemen; hundreds of thousands homeless and helpless Rohingyas have been wondering aimlessly in South-East Asia; etc., etc. These are all human beings suffering man's animalistic, self-serving cruelty to fellow man; and all predictable and preventable if the genetic savage instinct that we so carefully hide inside of us could yield to the morals and ethics that we all profess yet are unable to overcome when our self-serving interests are involved or when our primitive animalistic emotions boil over.
The wholesale slaughter that is taking place in the Palestine/Israel conflict pales in comparison to other recent and ongoing tragedies occurring elsewhere, in scale, of course, but not in the suddenness or its barbaric severity. Our mass media are turning their focus away from the war in the Ukraine toward the Middle East theater of the macabre. While they are at their usual game of biased exaggerations to impress ever larger audiences to improve their "bottom line," some heretofore masked realities are becoming inadvertently exposed.
As the geological examples mentioned above intended to expose, neither Russia's onslaught on Ukraine, nor the terroristic, merciless attack by Hamas on innocent Israelis was "unprovoked" as we keep hearing. Neither case could be "justified," no matter how hard we might try. "Justification" implies an act of rationalization to make a certain act appear just, moral and fair. No; terrorism is terrorism as defined and accepted globally, no matter committed by whom or for what reason, including as revenge or retribution for another act of terrorism.
So, if terrorism in any form cannot be justified, it can, however, be explained in level-headed objective ways. And, as to why even bother doing that; the reason is simple: treating the symptoms alone without looking for and addressing the causes of a problem is pretty stupid, unless, of course, ignoring those truths would serve ulterior, self-serving and not too honorable or noble motives! Ever wonder why a United Nations' Security Council resolution for a cease fire in Ukraine or Palestine cannot be passed? Go figure!