Why Hurricane Sandy Made Us Happy

“Hurricanes, which are very bad things, somehow neutralize the other bad thing which has no name.”

— Walker Percy, Lancelot

Marc Barnes has the rare gift of explaining deep seated feelings you have always experienced but never put to words or even thought much about.

Drawing from Walker Percy, Marc shows us why we get (at least initially) a little excited about natural disasters and impending destruction.

The hurricane relieves us. The things we seek to fend off despair with, the things we secretly doubt have any ability to bring us happiness, all of these are decimated in the face of the Frankenstorm. What does your money matter, when there is a whirlpool of destruction bearing down on rich and poor alike? What does your college education matter — certainly supposed to bring you happiness — when the ice giants are uprooting trees? What does your neighborhood and your good school system matter, your wardrobe, your iPhone, your car, your savings, your humanistic outlook, your eternal politeness? Hurricane, dammit!

Delight in the danger of the full article here.