The American Example: Uniting Under Difficult Conditions

Developing science and technology presents new opportunities for humanity every day. Big mountains can be drilled for fast trains to pass through and tunnels that connect two continents can be built under the sea. Most of these were difficult to even imagine just a century ago.

But it is also a fact that humanity is still largely helpless in the face of natural disasters despite our advanced technological possibilities.

Hurricane Harvey, which hit the United States at the end of August, caused major destruction. Rains, which reached an all time high, made it impossible to use numerous basic services such as transportation, health, supermarkets and waste treatment. Some people tried to save themselves by leaving the area. Immediately following this, even while these lines are being written, Hurricane Irma hit the US state of Florida as "the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane" in history.

Indeed, such disasters are destructive; yet despite the difficulties, the regions the disasters hit are the regions where self-sacrifice prevails in the face of all the suffering. For example, Hurricane Harvey has shown that values ​​that are not frequently seen in politics, media, or social life can be easily achieved by the American people during major disasters. During this great destruction, the American people reminded the whole world of "the beauty uniting in cooperation."

After the hurricane, many Americans demonstrated exemplary behavior, within their own means, in solidarity with the disaster victims. Some of them risked their own lives by using their boats to save people who were caught in the flood. Some Americans participated in human chains formed for transport or rescue operations. The people who were stranded on cars in the middle of the flood were transported to places where they would be more secure by these human chains.

The children were able to get on the rescue trucks by holding on to the human chains. The image of a SWAT team member in Houston, carrying a mother with her baby in her arms away from the water, is still imprinted in the minds of the people.

Not only those who participated in rescue operations themselves, but we should also not forget the operators who responded to calls for help at 911, the fast food workers who delivered food to disaster victims, those who turned their stores into shelters for victims, and those who support relief campaigns. They are at least as heroic as the others.

The things we described here are not scenes from a Hollywood movie. They are all real events we can see in the press and on the Internet with pictures and videos. Maybe these heroes are not as famous as Marvel or Disney heroes; even the names of some of them will remain unknown but these people have done something that will never be forgotten. They reminded the world of how much values like courage, helpfulness and self-sacrifice, which they carry in their hearts, are needed.

During this cooperation, there was no distinction between white, black, Republican or Democrat. In many places, Catholics extended their help to Protestants, Protestants to Jews, and Jews to Muslims. The help provided by Muslim groups especially stood out after this disaster.[i] While many Muslim groups supported Christians and Jews who were affected by the hurricane with boats, food and other relief supplies, a mosque in Houston opened its doors generously to their fellow Texans . The mosques also decided to make their prayers in the parking lot in order to free up more space for hurricane victims.[ii] No one asked about anyone's beliefs or political opinions before helping them.

However, only a few months ago, groups that carried out acts of violence on the streets on the pretext of various political reasons, presented a very different image to the world. According to this image, discrimination and polarization in America has increased so much that the international media has preferred to report this with the title "America is dragged into an internal conflict". However, after the images of unity and solidarity that emerged after Hurricane Harvey, the image of "Americans clashing with each other on the streets" has been largely erased.

Despite all their destructiveness, natural disasters remind people that they retain these human values ​​regardless of their color, language or religion, and that they can be united under all circumstances. We hope that neither America nor any part of the world will experience any destructive disasters; however, we should never forget the lesson of humanity taught by these tragic events. People who are perfectly capable of cooperating in unity under difficult circumstances have the power and skill to reinforce this spirit of unity and use it constantly in everyday life. The American people in particular, who have set an example with their spirit of solidarity since the past, should not give credence to the machinations of provocateurs that aim to sow discord, and they should not forget that the spirit of unity will always bring power. We hope that this spirit of unity will spread to the whole world in the near future.

Adnan Oktar's piece in BERNAMA & The Borneo Post & Riyadh Vision:

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/fe/newsfeatures.php?id=1394524

http://www.riyadhvision.com.sa/2017/10/03/the-american-example-uniting-under-difficult-conditions/