Editorial Cartoon drawn by Dick Hite Jr. | The Daily Cougar
With the volcano eruption in Iceland leading to the shutdown of thousands of flights in Europe each day, the issue has been raised of whether society is overreacting — which it tends to do in times of natural disasters — or if the right steps are being taken to protect passengers.
Many people are thinking twice about traveling regardless of the availability of flights. Some are comparing the reactions to air travel with those of terrorist attacks or threats. After Sept. 11, it took some time for fears about air travel to subside.
Others, however, are ready to get back in the air because they have business to attend to. People who planned vacations in Europe are more than likely eager to take them and are simply waiting until travel is allowed.
The mixed feelings of whether people are willing to fly leads to the ultimate thought of how people should react when it comes to natural disasters. Our society has become used to being in control, but when it comes to natural disasters, there’s really no option to take but the wait-and-see approach. Fear inevitably arises when people don’t know how bad such a disaster is.
People tend to overreact. Look at how Houstonians approach hurricanes.
When Rita was bearing down on the city in September 2005, Mayor Bill White encouraged everyone to not wait and evacuate immediately. Traffic was mayhem, and gas was sold out across the city.
Rather than considering how bad the hurricane would be, news stations centered their attention on previous strong-category strikes in Houston decades ago.
Instead of assuming the worst, it’s important to examine every situation separately instead of over dramatizing things.
This is exactly what’s happening with Iceland’s volcanic ash; airlines should simply use alternate routes and avoid those regions rather than shutting down completely.
Although it may in fact be better to be safe than sorry, it’s also better to learn from experience and attempt to effectively deal with naturally hazardous situations.
Does anyone think about consequences to actions at the CEB? I guess nobody there thinks about nothing until they receive their daily instructions from Obama on what to think.