Article June 26, 2006 Issue

MASS FEAR AND FRONT LINE PRAYER

BY RON BALLARD

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN if another tsunami hit coastal countries? A tornado in Dallas? Hurricanes off the Gulf Coast? Or a bird flu pandemic? What about world economies if oil prices keep rising? These questions are ones no one is really immune from these days. We've heard them all—or at least contemplated them. And with such uncertainties highlighted in the media and the threats of disaster hovering over the earth, it's no wonder a sense of mass fear accompanies these predictions.

Disasters and their threats deserve preparedness. Take for example Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who learned this lesson the hard way when a tsunami devastated his country two years ago. But after the 6.3 earthquake that struck Indonesia on May 27, the president acted quickly, moving his office to the quake's center and even sleeping in a tent with survivors (see The Christian Science Monitor, May 30, 2006, "Another kind of quake in Indonesia").

But how can we also prepare ourselves for the onslaught of fear that seems to accompany disaster preparation? Certainly taking reasonable steps to assure the safety of others is both wise and compassionate. However, emphasizing threats and assuring populations that it is not a matter of if but when disaster will strike can stir up fear that actually might exacerbate rather than improve the situation. And no one wants that.

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