PrintApril 24, 2011
Easter in Fukushima -- American Exceptionalism at Work
Easter is about resurrection and we are about to see the resurrection of the Japanese prefecture of Fukushima after the twin battering of the tsunami and the reactor accident. That may be a surprising statement to many, but remember that the resurrection of Christ was marked not by his appearance, but by an empty tomb. An angel told Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, "He is not here for he has risen. Come see the place where he lay."
This Easter in Fukushima will be marked by what Sherlock Holmes might have called the dog that did not bark. There is no longer a hue and cry over radioactive plutonium poisoning the Japanese countryside. There is a lot of short half-life Iodine-131 and a lesser amount of Cesium137 about, mostly restricted to the immediate grounds of the reactor plant. But workers are engaged in the clean up. While there were some deaths from the tsunami and the hydrogen explosions, there has not been a single death by radiation sickness, nor is there likely to be one in the future. The radiation doses have been contained to within tolerable limits for cleanup work to proceed. The worst of the crisis has passed. But before we go on with our lives, we ought to give thanks to those who deserve it, God, the American military and the American taxpayer.
The critical moment came when the Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel rods in the spent fuel pool of Reactor 3 became exposed and began overheating so much they glowed a Sun-like bright yellow. The Tepco authorities were in denial claiming they had water in the pool, the Japanese Self-Defense helicopters were attempting to drop water from such a high altitude that the wind just blew it away and the pundits were spouting out their impractical nonsense. Into the disaster arrived a haze gray airport fire truck with a long boom and water cannon, which sprayed water onto the "burning" MOX fuel rods and put the fire out, thereby ending the active release of plutonium from those MOX fuel rods. That fire truck was not painted fire engine red like those of the Tokyo Hyper Rescue Squad. The color was more a shade of what we used to call battleship gray. It was paid for by the American taxpayers.
America is still a nation that remembers and lives by the Great Commandment. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". It proved it once again in Fukushima. So Happy Easter America. God hears your prayers.
God Bless America.
