Noise

"Nothing is good or bad in and of itself. It is through the working of the mind that a thing becomes good or bad." Michel de Montaigne

These words were written in French many hundreds of years ago, but they apply to a tiny but much-loved corner of Okinawa today. The question is, is noise good or bad?

I personally love the drums, the music, and the shouting of the Eisa festival dances. My mind tells me, "This is good noise. It rouses the life in the people who hear it."

However, the Okinawa Marine Culture NPO I support is headquartered near a very noisy electricity generator. It's meant to supply electricity in times of emergency. I hear a whisper that "Having electricity in an emergency is good." But, the generator is so darn noisy that it drives people crazy every day---and that is every day of its existence so far---that there isn't an electrical emergency.

This is not good.

The obstacle standing between the people who live near the generator and the solution to the noise pollution problem is this: the generator is a military installation. So the question becomes, how noisy do the people have to become before the military can hear them pleading, "Stop killing us while you're trying to help us."