Do human beings think we're immortal, or that the forces of nature are somehow under our control? Do they take an "it can't happen to me" attitude?
I can remember hearing a report that a tsunami could be coming to the coast of California. It wasn't for sure, but a maybe. What did people do? Why, they went out on the pier to watch it come in.
Luckily, there was no tsunami.
They ignore warning signs about slippery rocks and swift currents, and then wonder why people drown in swift water and get killed by waterfalls.
They build houses in the chaparral, ignoring the fact that fires have swept that area every decade or two for centuries.
They build houses in the river bottom, the same river bottom that flooded a few years back, and has every decade or two. They get quite indignant about planning commissions that don't want to issue building permits, and go on about how government regulations are confining, and "environmentalists" are ruining their plans.
Then, when the floods and fires come, they want the government to bail them out. Let's get the governor to declare a disaster area, all of our possessions have been lost in that inevitable natural event that anyone who is listening would have known was coming sooner or later. And, of course, the governor comes and declares a disaster, and everyone goes on about the unfortunate loss of property and, perhaps, lives. Meanwhile, fire fighters and other rescue teams put their own lives at risk, and the public picks up the tab.
The latest example is people going to get a closer look at those huge waves generated by Hurricane Bill. Of course, they were rescued at taxpayer expense and, as a result, put the rescuers at risk. Here is an account of that from the AP.
Maybe it's time to just let nature take its course and natural selection apply to the human race.
I can remember hearing a report that a tsunami could be coming to the coast of California. It wasn't for sure, but a maybe. What did people do? Why, they went out on the pier to watch it come in.
Luckily, there was no tsunami.
They ignore warning signs about slippery rocks and swift currents, and then wonder why people drown in swift water and get killed by waterfalls.
They build houses in the chaparral, ignoring the fact that fires have swept that area every decade or two for centuries.
They build houses in the river bottom, the same river bottom that flooded a few years back, and has every decade or two. They get quite indignant about planning commissions that don't want to issue building permits, and go on about how government regulations are confining, and "environmentalists" are ruining their plans.
Then, when the floods and fires come, they want the government to bail them out. Let's get the governor to declare a disaster area, all of our possessions have been lost in that inevitable natural event that anyone who is listening would have known was coming sooner or later. And, of course, the governor comes and declares a disaster, and everyone goes on about the unfortunate loss of property and, perhaps, lives. Meanwhile, fire fighters and other rescue teams put their own lives at risk, and the public picks up the tab.
The latest example is people going to get a closer look at those huge waves generated by Hurricane Bill. Of course, they were rescued at taxpayer expense and, as a result, put the rescuers at risk. Here is an account of that from the AP.
Maybe it's time to just let nature take its course and natural selection apply to the human race.
