Despite our flaws, humans are worthy of trust

A letter from a reader that recently ran in the Koe (Voice) section of the Tokyo edition of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun went as follows: The author was going to drop off a letter in a post box, before realizing that he or she had lost it. Even so, the letter reached the recipient safely, which meant that someone must have picked it up and posted it. "I was touched that a total stranger took the trouble to put my letter in the post box," the author wrote.

Akiko Nakajima, 69, who spent a night on top of a bus during a flood caused by Typhoon No. 23 in 2004, says people are worth trusting. This is her underlying message in "Basu Suibotsu Jiko: Shiawase o Kureta 10 Jikan" (The flood-submerged bus: the 10 hours that brought me happiness), her just-published book from Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc.

According to Nakajima's account, the bus she was riding became stranded on a national highway in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture. There were 37 passengers on board, and their average age was around 65. As the floodwaters began to fill the bus, the passengers smashed the windows and climbed out onto the roof. The water level kept rising, and everyone was soon hip-deep in a muddy swirl as they stood helplessly on the bus roof. To protect themselves from being washed away, they huddled shoulder-to-shoulder, their arms linked tightly.

They consoled and encouraged one another. As they stayed huddled together to keep warm in the dark, a sense of solidarity developed, enabling everyone to believe they were going to be alright.

It is well known from news reports from that time that they tried to stay awake by singing together "Ue o Muite Aruko," a popular song known by the title of "Sukiyaki" in English-speaking countries. Nakajima, who led the singing, substituted the second verse with one of her own impromptu creation: "Happiness is on top of the bus/ Happiness is in the water ... ."

Nakajima had worked for many years as a nurse. She recalls: "It is a given that there are people in this world who are capable of sacrificing themselves, without even thinking about it, to help someone else. I understood this for the first time that night at age 64." Her words are those of someone who survived extreme peril.

People are not always motivated by kindness and goodwill alone. We are all selfish, and meanness and insensitivity abound in our society. Still, I would like to believe that it is in our nature as human beings to want to help one another. After all, we are supposed to have been born the wisest among all animals.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 26(IHT/Asahi: October 27,2009)