As the Filipino people try to rise from the rubbles left by the unprecedented calamity (Typhoon Haiyan), with a destructive power never felt before, the question “why?” cannot be avoided. And, if there are evils that are of natural origin – natural phenomena like earthquakes or furious storms – there are other kinds of evil, one of which is what we call moral evil, resulting from the effects of our own sinfulness – selfish destruction of nature; pollution of all sorts gravely affecting the rise of temperature; abuse and consequent depletion of resources (water, food, energy, etc) which alienate the poor; the blind search for profit reduces nature and its resources to mere numbers due to the greed of shameless multinationals.
Certainly, it would be irresponsible to call the “Supertyphoon Haiyan” an “act of God” or a mere natural phenomenon. Obviously, it was an outcome of humanity’s willful disregard for God’s creation, and of our continuous neglect to care for our common home – the planet Earth. Haiyan is a powerful reminder of our interconnectedness in this small planet, that what we do or fail to do matters for the ruin or welfare of everyone of us individually and collectively. And, therefore, it is a call to place the common good above our individual comforts, longings, pleasures or even needs. We are responsible for each other and only in the measure we assume that responsibility can we properly preserve our common home and share its resources.
I see two grave sins in this respect; one is, the careless destruction of the vital resources of our planet – water pollution, gas emissions and destruction of the ozone layer, destruction of wildlife, genetic manipulation of seeds and plants to augment production at the expense of killing biodiversity, etc…just to mention a few. Two, the irresponsible denial of our wrongdoings and their effects in the face of mounting evidences of destruction we are inflicting on the planet and, therefore, on the vulnerability of the human race. We only have to look at the little progress made at the latest annual U.N. climate change summit in Warsaw. Wealthy and developing nations agreed to commit to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in response to climate change, but the final deal is due only to be signed in Paris in 2015 – a very meager result of a very difficult birth. This lack of political will, allied with the prevalent economic interests, continues to dictate the destruction of our common inheritance.
What answer are we called to give? I believe that we need to take three steps: First, accept the reality – there are evils and “evils!” Those that are man-made are real and we should feel guilty for them. Second, repent of our wrongdoings and of our passiveness. A change of heart is needed in our attitudes and inactions. This should lead us to a third step – decisive commitment and action, both at the personal and communitarian levels, not to undo the wrong we have done, for it is impossible to bring to life a tree that has been cut. Our action has to bring us to a positive effort to pollute less, consume less, destroy less in order to save more our natural resources and share them in a more fraternal spirit. Haiyan may soon be history but there are “evils” we can and should fight to foster the quality and dignity of human life for all.
