Shaken Not Stirred
SENSE
A Field Guide to Science & Culture
Theory . Storytelling . Transformation
The Phoenix Bond Election (March 2006) includes a proposal for a remote, redundant data facility about 50 miles from Phoenix (Civic leaders want greater security and continuity of revenue collection processes in times of trouble after a disaster). A Citizen’s bond technology subcommittee heard a call for creation of a Sister City program for improved data survival. The Mayor of Phoenix floated the idea, but it fell off the radar screen fairly quickly.
Let's consider the Great Sonoran Earthquake of May 3, 1887, nearly one hundred nineteen years ago -- although Sonora and Arizona had little infrastructure and few people, the Pitaycachi (Bavispe) earthquake caused widespread damage to property, 51 deaths, and many injuries; at Tepic, Sonora, the walls and roofs of every house fell shattered; at Oputo (56 kilometers northeast of Tepic), a church collapse killed 40 people seeking shelter from the quake; structures in southeastern Arizona also sustained damage.
Let's consider disaster in general -- Post-storm, post-flood New Orleans honors the past and the future as it prepares for Mardi Gras (February 28, 2006); and, San Francisco celebrates the centennial of their earthquake and fire (April 18-20, 1906) with exhibitions, conferences, lectures, tours and media shows. According to Rebecca Solnit, disasters highlight both a failure of authority and a phenomenon of surprising human kindness, "...being in the moment, nonattachment, compassion for all beings, and awareness of mortality and ephemerality. From this perspective, disaster can be understood as a crash course in consciousness."
We should shake into action a plan -- a binational celebration to commemorate the one hundred twenty year anniversary of the Great Sonoran Earthquake -- an opportunity for Arizona & Sonora to celebrate culture and shared natural history, honor the dead, study geology, discover the sites & examine the ruins, consider the varied responses to disaster, and patch up the rifts of our recent past.
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