The Emotional Connection (Louis Armstrong on my mind)

Of all the undergraduate classes I took over twenty years ago, the one that has served me the most in my adult life was a speech class.  Taught by my favorite professor, he challenged me to talk to people whose opinions differed from mine. 

"Convincing someone who doesn't agree with you to listen, and then actually hear your point of view is a skill you will need."  How right he is.

I'm not referring to conversations like the one I had recently where I told a friend I couldn't bake apple cinnamon muffins at home because my husband didn't eat them.

"How can he not like apple cinnamon muffins?"
"It's not that he doesn't like them.  He's trying not to eat baked goods.  If I bake them, he'll eat them, or so he says.  It's easier if I just don't make them."
She understood.  Many forty-four year old men are watching their waistlines.  Point made, point taken.

Sitting across from the founder of the volunteer organization I worked with back in the spring, I held my response to a comment he made.
"I hope people like you will find it in their hearts to take a month off from work and go volunteer somewhere."
I didn't think I could say to him "That won't be happening with me."  I did not go to Japan on a whim.  I went to volunteer in late March in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunamis because it was Japan.  The floods raging Thailand?  I won't be going there to help.  I'm sorry.  I really am.  Not sorry enough to spend money out of pocket to go, but sorry nonetheless.

I went to Japan because of my emotional connection to the land, country, and people.  It was my home.  Japan matters to me.  Just as the natural disaster in Thailand matters less to me, the events on March 11 do not matter to most people.  This painful realization is my the latest fact I struggle with.  If I can't and won't go to Thailand to help them, how can I expect those who share no emotional connection to Japan to keep helping?

The answer lies in Greece.  Asia does not have a "Union" the way Europe does.  To assume and believe the economic crisis Japan is now experiencing does and will not affect the rest of the world, this I argue against vehemently.  Just today NPR reported Honda's production has decreased by over 50% since March and its exports are down over 15%.  Not buying a new car any time soon?  So be it.  This is just one example of how Japan's economy can affect you.  Extend this problem out several years and not only will we see a decrease in products made in Japan, if Japan becomes less of a consumer powerhouse will that not in turn affect the world's economy?

Europe may or may not bail out its neighbor to the south.  The economic woes of Greece, however, have affected the European Union.  Who will bail out Japan?  What will Japan's economic woes do to the rest of the world?  To you?  To me?

Louis Armstrong is quoted as saying, "There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell them."  This statement has been not only on my mind since March, it has become my mantra I struggle against.  How do I talk to those who have no emotional connection to Japan and get them to care?  I am no economist.  I am no banker.  I can't espouse theory and rhetoric that will make people change their beliefs.  Is Louis Armstrong right?  Am I doomed?  Is it truly impossible to convince people who "don't know"?

I think back to my speech class.  Having tried many of the tactics taught me, I come away with mixed results.  The answers on how to talk to people who don't "get it" elude me while my emotional connection to Japan remains strong and real.  A most frustrating conundrum, indeed.

"Japan can take care of itself."

This was a statement made to me recently.  I continue to be baffled by it.  On the one hand, for those who have no emotional attachment to Japan, the events of March 11th seem distant and foreign.  I get that.  On the other hand, actually stating "Japan can take care of itself so I'm not sending any money" feels cold, uncaring, and harsh.

The news about the damage Hurricane Irene brought to the US is a good example.  This news will disappear in a week.  Mark my words.  There will be some new story needing to be covered.  Maybe someone will find Gadhafi.  Maybe someone will find secret love letters between John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy.  My point is, life moves on.  The news moves on.  The devastation brought by Irene to those in the US, and those who are still struggling from events almost six months ago in Japan--for them, life has changed dramatically.

Let's say you live in Virginia.  Imagine every city, village, and town on your Atlantic coastline experiencing some kind of damage.  If you live in Washington, you would be going something similar.  And North Carolina.  And South Carolina.  If you live anywhere between Boston and Manhattan, your town would be in ruins.  That's what people who live on an almost 300 mile stretch of coastline are still experiencing in Japan.  You think cleaning up after Irene will be a pain?  Welcome to the club.

With Prime Minister Kan's resignation (covered for a day on CNN) still fresh on my mind, I have to wonder what's in store for Japan.  Will a new prime minister really make a difference?  How much longer can Japan hold on?  Where do those whose lives have been turned upside down continue to find strength?  Or, do they?

I can't keep people from assuming Japan can take care of itself.  I can, however, try to remind people that a triple disaster that affects millions will most definitely take years to fix.  If you think Japan's economic woes won't affect you down the road, shame.  Talk to me again when you can't replace your Japanese car in six months or a year because your local dealer is still out of stock.  Japan is everyone's problem.  Be a part of helping or not but the longer Japan takes to recover, the more of us will feel the pain.  My two cents, of course.