WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM JAPAN

Events unfolding in Japan should be more than a bit frightening to us on several different levels.  Naturally the most obvious is the fact that a nuclear power plant is threatening to melt down and a good deal of radiation has been and is, continuing to leak out.  This nuclear nightmare is one that should worry all of us.  Radiation has made it's way around the globe and we may never fully know the extent of the damage worldwide.

The other concern for us here in the U.S. should be the observations of how the Japanese nuclear operators and even the government of Japan has reacted to the whole nightmare.  The withholding of information, the deception and lack of forthrightness coming from both sources is of great concern, not only because of the lack of faith and trust it creates but, it gives some insight into what would also happen here, if a similar disaster happened on our own soil.  I think we are getting a pretty good picture of how our own government would react in a similar situation.   I can see our leaders and the nuclear industry downplaying a disaster, dispensing false information and perhaps, even downright lying, in order to avoid panic.   As I follow these events in Japan, I get a vision of what would happen here.  It's not to hard of a stretch to imagine the chaos and the breakdown of our own society, in a major catastrophe like the one in Japan.  All you need to consider is the type of behavior we exhibit when there is pending snowstorm or an event like Hurricane Katrina.  

Perhaps it might be a good time to arm oneself and stockpile the food and water just in case.