What Does It Mean To Say When The Earth Is Cruel Earth

“Today our nation joins with you in grief. We mourn with you. We share your hope against hope that some may still survive.” In this statement, he is using a pathos appeal to make his audience feel one with their nation by their shared emotions of remorse and sadness, Oklahoma is not the only state that is grieving. America has lost many sons and daughters. By using the words “grief” and “mourn” Clinton shows how tragic and emotional the current event is and shows that he can interpret and understand exactly what his audience is going through. Clinton reminds them that he will be there for them for every step of the difficult process.

In the early morning of April 15th, 1865, the nation was flooded with overwhelming waves of emotions after hearing the tragic news. Our 16th President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated and killed. In the excerption from the book Mourning Lincoln by Martha Hodes, she states that the American culture in this time and age was to express feelings of grief in a reasonable manner. It is said in her excerption that “expressions of grief were meant to be properly bounded: too much, and one was overly self-indulgent; too little, and one was not quite sensitive enough.” However, on this distinct day in history, the people who mourned the death of the beloved President did not attempt to wear a mask disguising their true

April resists public modes of grieving in favor of the more intimate, personal, and domestic setting with someone she knows. She is surprised and a little repulsed that life did not stop after 9/11. That “stores would never open again” that “businesses [would] shut down” that “lawyers quit their practices and run into the woods” (145). Instead life went on. Rather than stop and grieve, Americans rushed to return to normalcy and sought to commercialize grief in newspapers like they did “movie reviews” or “the bridge column” (145).

Seven years ago it was nothing for Andie to swat at the snooze button, deliver a hearty yawn and grumble, "Just five more minutes," then roll over in bed. However, that week in September 2008 was different because two-hundred miles away a Category 1 hurricane pushed ahead, swelling from ingesting the Gulf's warm moist air. After a third snooze cycle, Andie slips from her bed and flips on the television for a weather update on Hurricane Ike. The text from the ticker scrolls that Ike is projected to make landfall in 24 hours and evacuation is mandatory.

When a loved when is gone it feels like a hole in the world. With much grief he says, “Never again will anyone inhabit the world the way he did. Questions I have can never now get answers. The world is emptier. My son is gone. Only a hole remains, Avoid, a gap, never to be filled”(33). This phrase describes his emotions and how he views the world without his son. The author gives advice on what to say to someone who is mourning. He says to never say its Ok because its never okay and death is awful. “ What I need to hear from you is that you recognize how painful it is. I need to hear from you that you are with me in my desperation” (34). When some passes away no one really knows what his or her loved ones are feeling because each death is unique and each person is different. The wisest of words don’t even make the pain go away, and all that can be done is lending an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on.

“In the end it all comes down to people. I like people. Because even when the situation is dire, it is only ever people who inspire.” Harry Baker, the poetry world champion writes what he refers to as the “Technically, the Best Poem In the World” where he talks about the beauty of people. And he’s right, it does all come down to people. From the families we were raised in, to the relationships we choose to keep or disregard as we develop our own lives, people are at the core of everything. Unfortunately, just because this life of our is comprised on human beings, that doesn’t always mean that things are in favor of said individuals. We are all aware of the fact that “life isn’t fair” and was never meant to be a walk in the park. Whether it was a physical detriment or just a mental issue, there is at least one aspect in every one of our lives that has made things difficult. In January 2012, the people of Haiti went through yet another struggle in their everyday lives. After striking down the entire country in one fell swoop, the 7.0 magnitude earthquake left the people of this country in a rock bottom. In Sometimes the earth is Cruel, Leonard Pitts explains what happens to these fundamental people of ours after the damage has become part of their lives.

Vulnerability of people in Hurricane Andrew and the Bangladesh Typhoon were different for these two social systems despite the similarities of the two disasters. Hurricane Andrew took place in 1992 and was a category five hurricane which killed 23 people and left $26.5 billion in damages. Bangladesh Typhoon took place in 1991 and was also the same storm intensity as Hurricane Andrew, however, it killed 100,000 people and left millions displaced. “Humans are great optimizers” (Walker & Salt, 2006, p. 28). Humans like stability and not variability, for it hooks into something psychological that we like consistency and we want growth in a linear way, however, that is not how it works.

There are disasters occurring all around the world that most individuals will not hear of due to a lack of media coverage. Many of these disasters can have incredibly detrimental effects on entire populations, and those at risk deserve a chance to educate themselves. Two of the disasters found were the West Fertilizer plant explosion and the increasing rate of acidification of ocean water. Despite the fact that these disasters pose such incredible dangers, they were found to be among the least reported on stories amongst media outlets. Although these disasters have not been covered nearly as much as other major catastrophes, such as hurricane Katrina, they still have far reaching physical and emotional consequences and have their own unique story.

Back in 2012 we had a Derecho which was a damaging wind storm which some people called it a mini tornado in Waynesboro. I was outside at a racetrack when this happened and it seemed like time stood still. Everyone was rushing to their cars to go home and running around looking for somewhere to take cover. All I can remember was the adrenaline rush to get into a safe and sturdy place to wait out this storm. My mawmaw told me to get under the concession stand shelf, but all I wanted was to peek up and watch as this wind picked up every little thing it could. Trees were down, power was out, and destruction was left behind for some houses. The ending quote Crenshaw wrote, “I realized they watched from the window to see the terrible beauty of the storm…”( 2004, pg.206), made me relate back to that night because all I wanted to do was sit and watch as this storm

Unfortunately, a large storm is heading our way, and since Katrina has happened, we have to be on high alert. We have been. But the water is rising and I say we should evacuate the city because of that. Even if it’s not that bad of a storm, we will be taking the correct steps to protect the people.

I clutch my stomach as I fall to my knees with grief and sob for all the lives lost. I cry for the families and friends that have to watch as those closest to them take their own life. Tears fall for the ones who never give up on them, and return every day to the cemetery, leaving flowers and notes and the teddy bears that look half dead even before they enter a

"The world may bring deep darkness but we are bearers of light. We join our flames together, and shine in the blackest of nights", A famous quote by John Mare Green describing tragedy. Any type of tradegy is mournful just because of the fact that something bad happened. People's grief after a tragic event is often expressed in a form of memorial for the victims. Many people remorse over tragedies or mishaps, and others attempt to forget about what had happened.

Earth is a constant changing planet home to the human-race. As Humans we’ve always constructed absurd conspiracy theories that evidently change society. Currently, as a resident of the United States of America, I’m faced with a numerous amount of dynamic news. Unfortunately, this present news isn’t satisfying but rather frightening due to the devastation that may potentially occur. Presently, in North America we’re struck with harsh hurricanes, fat fires, deliberate division, and enthusiastic earthquakes. Hurricanes are enormous spiral-like storms that construct themselves in the ocean, and later remain stationary or venture to land. From Harvey to Irma, each and every single hurricane is causing devastation in it’s own path. Out in the

“Ordinary people” everywhere are faced day after day with the ever so common tragedy of losing a loved one. As we all know death is inevitable. We live with this harsh reality in the back of our mind’s eye. Only when we are shoved in the depths of despair can we truly understand the multitude of emotions brought forth. Although people may try to be empathetic, no one can truly grasp the rawness felt inside of a shattered heart until death has knocked at their door. We live in an environment where death is invisible and denied, yet we have become desensitized to it. These inconsistencies appear in the extent to which families are personally affected by death—whether they

     Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The second Beatitude tells us that we should