"The most startling thing about disasters, according to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and meaningful work that disaster often provides. A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster's grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local."
When Sebastian Junger wrote his book 'Tribe', I remember reading an interview where he talked about this. He shared a story where he talked with a woman who had been in Sarajevo when it fell. Many horrific things happened during that time - my FIL's nurse was there and told me some pretty hair raising stuff. But for all the horror, when it was over, the people missed it. Junger shared that the woman felt somewhat strange saying that, but he noted that she lowered her eyes and quietly said 'we were better to one another' it is an interesting sociological phenomenon - that when life is at its worst, people can be at their best.
That's exactly what this book referenced. From multiple events over a wide span of time, it universally showed that people found themselves and became "human" again. Joy amidst the rubble of their former lives. Government's only role in these scenarios is to restore the previous conditions of competition, selfishness and class divisions. This book upended many of my beliefs.
Thanks for your book recommendation and story.
Our humanity is obscured by "civilization" but revealed in times of crisis.
https://www.amazon.ca/Paradise-Built-Hell-Extraordinary-Communities/dp/0143118072/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2F6Z9L3BH6HW4&dchild=1&keywords=a+paradise+built+in+hell&qid=1613737016&sprefix=a+paradise+%2Caps%2C506&sr=8-1
"The most startling thing about disasters, according to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and meaningful work that disaster often provides. A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster's grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local."
When Sebastian Junger wrote his book 'Tribe', I remember reading an interview where he talked about this. He shared a story where he talked with a woman who had been in Sarajevo when it fell. Many horrific things happened during that time - my FIL's nurse was there and told me some pretty hair raising stuff. But for all the horror, when it was over, the people missed it. Junger shared that the woman felt somewhat strange saying that, but he noted that she lowered her eyes and quietly said 'we were better to one another' it is an interesting sociological phenomenon - that when life is at its worst, people can be at their best.
That's exactly what this book referenced. From multiple events over a wide span of time, it universally showed that people found themselves and became "human" again. Joy amidst the rubble of their former lives. Government's only role in these scenarios is to restore the previous conditions of competition, selfishness and class divisions. This book upended many of my beliefs. Thanks for your book recommendation and story.
Great mini thread, and resources from both of you. Thanks for keeping it classy.
WWG1WGA!