After Sandy: Where Do We Go Now?

Can we rise up from Sandy stronger than before?

Hurricane Sandy was - and continues to be - devastating for the tri-state area.

With so many lives lost and homes destroyed, it’s hard to find any silver lining in Sandy. But being alive means we’re destined to suffer loss now and again, and while it’s okay to lose, it’s not okay to lose the lesson.

So bearing that in mind, here are some things I think we all should think about:

Does it really take a terrible storm and a shortage of gas to teach us we should be carpooling more often? What is our plan if we ever run out of gas for good?

Should it take a terrible storm to teach us how the electricity in our cities work?

Most of us are more concerned with finding outlets for our cell phone chargers than we are with understanding where we get all our power from.

Con Ed made just over a TRILLION DOLLARS last year! Do we need a tragic hurricane to make us ask where this money is going and why the power seems to go out somewhere every time a big storm hits? Why aren’t all our power lines underground by now?

Do we need a storm to introduce us to our elected officials? Most of us were seeing these people for the first time last week, on TV. Should we spend more time getting to know these men and women before we elect them and put them in the position of protecting us? Most of us barely pay attention to local political races, and then something like Sandy hits, and we’re completely in these strangers’ hands.

Do you know who the head of FEMA is? Do you know what the presidential candidates’ positions are on FEMA?

Do we need a giant hurricane to make us form emergency plans at work and at home? Most of us never pay attention to things like fire drills, and then something like Sandy comes along, and we have no emergency plan, at home or at work.

Do we need a Sandy ripping our electricity and transportation from us to tell us that maybe we should slow down, look up from all our gadgets, and smell the roses more?

Do our kids need the internet and TV being down to show them the joy of playing outside?

Do we need a Sandy to smack us on the head and say that maybe global warming really does exist, and we need to conserve more?

Do we need Sandy to teach us to be more patient with those around us?

Again, I don’t mean to minimize this tragedy, which has hurt too many people in unspeakable ways.

But if we don’t find ways to learn and grow from these events, eventually we’re gonna get hosed by them.

What lessons are you going to take away from Sandy?