By Georgie Bright Kunkel

I know. Many of you weren’t even born yet so of course you don’t remember it. We Seattleites don’t worry about earthquakes because they don’t happen very often but if you actually have experienced one you will never forget it. Anyone who has lived through one can tell you just where they were and how it all played out. And if you lived in Alaska during one of their big upheavals it made even a bigger impression. Today I met a woman who was born in Alaska and didn’t come to Seattle until she had experienced the “big” one some years ago. She was terrified at the mayhem—streets heaved up killing many who could not escape and leaving those who survived without water or services. You couldn’t go to the store for supplies unless you had cash.
It is at times like this that we realize that our earth is not stable. We live on a crust with a molten mass of danger lurking below. It is only rarely that any one of us realizes the tentativeness of human existence. And as I have mentioned many times before, death structures life. Without that underlying realization, we would not have been so motivated to accomplish what we humans have achieved over the centuries. But even with the awareness of our finite condition, there are two ways to behave. One way is to cherish human life and contribute our talents to the world. The other way is to take advantage of human frailty and live the evil life of plunder and pillage whenever a disaster strikes.

Some consider that life is short and they take advantage of disaster for their own gain. Others seem to be motivated to help the unfortunate ones caught by war, earthquakes or hurricanes. I used to dream about disaster making my life a dangerous journey. I have memories of the so-called Great War which resulted in many casualties. Luckily the war did not reach Seattle except for the blackouts here on the coast. Our country is vast and well protected. However, Hawaii was vulnerable. And the demolished twin towers in New York proved that our largest city was fair game. We were fortunate that during WWII we developed the atom bomb which had to be used in order to prevent the treacherous battles that otherwise would have extended into the country of Japan causing horrendous US casualties.

As a female, it makes me very sad to look back at history and realize that men have fought war after war without ever reaching the end of conflict. Women have produced goods and services used in men’s wars but they have never had the power to say “no” to war. As long as ignorance has still not been overcome in our world there will be powerful men who take advantage of such ignorance to use brute force to rule the world. As a former educator, I would hope that extending education to all would overcome the ignorance that contributes to the force of evil in the world. But I finally realize that I am only one person and that I can only do one person’s thing in trying to make the world a better place.

That is where offspring come in. We not only can help to make the world a better place but we can teach our offspring to carry on the belief that humankind is essentially benevolent. Spreading this belief is the calling to all humans who truly believe that a better world is possible. One day there will be an end to war. If I didn’t believe that I would probably live a much different life. For now I am passing on the hope for peace to my offspring. That is the responsibility that all parents have and I take it seriously.

Georgie Bright Kunkel is a freelance writer who can be reached at 206-935-8663 or
gnkunkel@comcast.net