"Betting on Japan"

E.J. Dionne writes in today's Kaplan Daily about his first impressions of Japan when he visited in the 1990's; about the "sense of extraordinary achievement of the Japanese people in the years since the war's end." When this Hackwhacker visited Japan for the first time several years ago, I had similar impressions of Japan as well (the energy, the enthusiasm, the intelligence, the resourcefulness, and more). Frankly, I fell in love with the country and its people (full disclosure: I may be somewhat biased since my daughter-in-law is Japanese).

Dionne makes the case that the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that struck Japan offer it a unique opportunity to take stock of the shortcomings of its social and political systems (as it seems it already is doing), reinvent itself, and rise once again as it did after World War II. As Dionne puts it, "The spontaneous forms of solidarity and inventiveness that Japan's triple tragedy has called forth suggests a society that has lost neither its resourcefulness nor its organizational gifts." We, too, believe that in overcoming this disaster and rebuilding -- as Japan inevitably will -- the Japanese people will again demonstrate their ability to achieve the extraordinary.

If you haven't given to the Japanese relief effort, please consider doing so. Here's a useful link, again, for vetted charities.