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Tragedies: The Noticeable And The Overlooked |
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by Donna Turner via The Progressive Review
(No verified email address) |
04 Feb 2003
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I indeed did feel very sad, but my heartache was more for the thousands who died unheralded across this planet yesterday, for the bereaved who were not comforted, for the sick, the lonely and the frightened, for the lost and unloved among us, for the countless unnoticed tragedies that happen every moment of every day. |
As I sat in church Sunday morning, listening to my pastor call for prayers for the souls of the Columbia astronauts and for the comfort of the loved ones of the lost, I felt guilty as I wondered, "Am I the only one?" Am I the only one who, when our nation and the world becomes transfixed by a public tragedy, wonders about all the suffering that goes unnoticed?
When the pastor called these men and women heroes and suggested that their spirits now reside among the stars, I couldn't help thinking "what a wonderful way to go." They probably were all good and decent, and certainly brilliant and exceptional to be chosen for their mission. They were also the lucky ones, the ones doing what they loved, given an opportunity only one in many millions of us will ever know. Their families will have the consolation of grieving without the fear of destitution that so many know after the loss of a spouse or parent. They will have the comfort of knowing that every effort will be made to determine the cause of the loss. They will have the sympathy of the nation and most of the world.
As I listened to my pastor, I indeed did feel very sad, but my heartache was more for the thousands who died unheralded across this planet yesterday, for the bereaved who were not comforted, for the sick, the lonely and the frightened, for the lost and unloved among us, for the countless unnoticed tragedies that happen every moment of every day.
Are these quiet tragedies, these invisible agonies, not just as worthy of headlines? Are they not just as worthy of our attention and our prayers, our tears and our grief, as the loss of seven whose dreams were fulfilled? Am I the only one who felt this way? Am I the only one who noticed?
Donna Turner, Nashville, Tennessee
From The Progressive Review website:
http://prorev.com/indexa.htm |
