While the floods in Australia are devastating, there are a number of natural disasters unfolding on a significantly larger human and geographic scale – and we don’t seem to give a damn.

John Donne is often quoted for writing his famous missive, “No man is an island.” Well, no phrase is an island, either. The context of Donne’s statement is grounded in a line that appears later in the poem. “Any man’s death diminishes me,/ because I am involved in mankind.”

So why do we run the Australian floods as headlining stories, with each Australian life tallied, acknowledged and numbered carefully, while literally hundreds of thousands of people are also perishing in mudslides and flood waters in various parts of the globe? Why are these stories also not a part of our public discourse, or our dinner-time conversation?

Here’s a quick round up:

• One million Sri Lankans flee floods
• 400 000 Philippinos displaced, 42 dead in rains and mudslides
• 348 Brazilians dead in rain and mudslides

As of now, 34 Australians have died since heavy rains commenced in November.

Which begs the age old question: is human suffering measured in numbers? Do we view the world through a utilitarian totaling of the dead and displaced in order to gauge the gravity of a situation? Or can we acknowledge that as long as we are all human, the suffering of a small group of people is as relevant as the suffering of a large number of people – but one ought never supersede another in importance.

The correct response ought not to be diminish our concern for Australians, or Australian lives, but to augment our acknowledgment of the suffering taking place in corners of the world where, shockingly, the victims don’t speak English as a primary language. They don’t eat the same food as us, and they probably couldn’t appreciate our constant torrent of witty pop culture references and self-obsession.The Boston Globe won’t scramble to publish a Big Picture photo essay on their tragedy. They might eventually, but they’ll get there when they can. Perhaps once the flood waters in Brisbane have begun to recede.

Our news cycle should never be regarded as mirror to be held up against all that is important in the world, only one to be held up against what we believe to be important in ours. The news cycle a reflection of our interest.

An obvious point, but an important one to remember on occasion.

Did you know that more South Africans died in the recent spate of summer rains than Australians have during their floods?

Were you interested?

[Image: Gallo]