- THE CALM
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
- THE DIGNITY
Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
- THE ABILITY
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
- THE GRACE
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
- THE ORDER
No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
- THE SACRIFICE
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
- THE TENDERNESS
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
- THE TRAINING
The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
- THE MEDIA
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
- THE CONSCIENCE
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly