How Americans respond to disasters like Harvey shows us who we are

A Houston friend wrote that he had just witnessed one of the great phenomena of nature — four inches of rain fell outside his window in one hour. He was both shaken and in awe.

No doubt, daily in some place in the world some natural disaster occurs. Sometimes it is an earthquake, sometimes a blizzard, lightning or a meteor strikes, typhoons, drought, mudslides, high winds, no winds, or a volcano erupts. We usually only hear about the really big ones, the ones that take place in our backyards, or the ones in which famous people or places are involved.

We have also recently observed a total eclipse of the sun, not a disaster. It happens out there in space. We simply observe it. In things like hurricanes, we are wont to distinguish natural from man-made disasters. We can find someone to blame for man-made disasters. Even in natural disasters, we politicize them to find someone to blame for not anticipating or doing enough about them.

{mosads}We have laws about dams and buildings. When a flood comes along, as in Houston, we find that, while floods were anticipated, none of this magnitude was. A flood of this size occurs once every 800 years. Well, this is the 800th year. Who could have anticipated it? We cannot really blame anyone. The National Hurricane Center was not set up to prevent hurricanes from happening.

We call disasters, such as that in Houston, “acts of God.” They are not traceable to any human cause. To blame some human agent for something that occurs in nature is clearly unjust. Human nature, however, wants things explained. That is why Aristotle called us “rational animals.”  We want to know what things are even if we cannot do anything about them. No one claims that earthquakes or tropical storms do not have causes. These causes, which we can often understand, are not human causes.

Pence prays with Harvey victims on visit to Texas https://t.co/4Lv6wo5AlX pic.twitter.com/KJ4AzZBZGz

— The Hill (@thehill) August 31, 2017

Nor do we need to blame God for the disasters. Our planet witnesses storms, earthquakes, lightning, droughts, and fires. Usually they have their own purpose, to adjust or to clear out things. Things are what they are. If we wanted the heavy rains to stop falling, we would have to repeal the laws of gravity. To stop flooding, we cannot ask water to stop being water. That would just create another natural disaster.

Prudence is needed. If we build a house on the side of a volcano, the volcano does not mind. Volcanos do what volcanoes do. We should act according to their nature, not only on where we might have a nice view. If we build on the side of an active volcano and it goes off, it is an act of God combined with human stupidity.

Those who suffer from natural disasters are often, improperly, called “victims.” The word “victim” implies that someone suffers because of the deliberate action of another human agent. If I suffer from some disease, like cancer, I am not a “victim.” Oh, I might blame the doctor for not discovering it sooner, but the disease itself is usually not caused by any human choice, though it is caused by something. Still, I suffer from this cancer and deserve pity.

How I react to the natural ills or disasters that happen to me, if I survive them, constitute issues of character, generosity, courage, and patience. Houston has been full of brave people. A friend’s wife, after three days in their flooded home, was rescued. Acts of God mean that I belong to a race which, for whatever reason, has things happen to it that are beyond its control and are not directly caused by other responsible agents.

WATCH: CNN reporter rescues man from drowning while covering Harvey https://t.co/ObisuCJlKi pic.twitter.com/kRegohQqR0

— The Hill (@thehill) August 30, 2017

Once a disaster happens, many can be victims of others who refuse to help them or who prove to be incompetent when the need for their services arises. History is full of disaster relief supplies and foodstuffs that were stolen in route and never reached those for whom they were collected and intended. To give money or supplies to aid those suffering from a natural disaster is one thing; it is another to transport what is needed to where it can be used.

Of natural disasters we ask: Who is concerned enough to help? Prudent enough to know what is needed? And virtuous enough to do something about it? Disaster relief services are functions of almost any government, from the U.N. to the local county. The present disaster in Texas reminds us that some things are beyond our planning even when our efforts are of some help.

Natural disasters, like ones caused by others, reveal the character of those who undergo them, of those who do and do not endeavor to assist them. Often enough, good-hearted efforts to aid others cause more problems than good. In addition, when a breakdown in civic life follows a disaster, we often see looting and other such vices. Police and National Guard are called in not just for disaster relief but also to prevent or punish such evils that invariably occur in such circumstance even in Texas.

Anheuser-Busch brewery to halt beer production, produce more water for Harvey victims https://t.co/VlbPGzSKmf pic.twitter.com/lbhgLOI2sM

— The Hill (@thehill) August 31, 2017

During the New Orleans floods of 2005, the best relief that New Orleans received was from the generosity of near-by Texans. While Louisiana may get its share of Harvey before it is over, the whole country realizes that this national disaster is one that affects all of us.

The fact that the sun comes up every morning is as much an Act of God as Tropical Storm Harvey. The human adventure seems mostly to be composed of our relationship with one another. But we are graphically reminded that it also has to do with the way our planet is.

Whether a Tsunami strikes in Thailand, or Japan, or Houston, we usually cannot anticipate. Nor can we anticipate how we will respond to it. What we do know is that our response to it will, as much as anything, also indicate the sort of people we are.

The Rev. James Schall, S.J., author of “A Line Through the Human Heart: On Sinning & Being Forgiven,” is professor emeritus at Georgetown University.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.