With all of the acronyms texters and tweeters use to qualify their sentiments, my wife and I use the above on a regular basis. I could say that I coined it quite a few years ago, but you never know what the actual source may be. My late father in law and I used to share a secret greeting and handshake. It turned up on television about 6 months after his memorial service.
The recent bus crash tragedy in Saskatchewan has prompted me to throw in my 2 cents here. As someone who grew up in an auto wrecking yard with the end results of automotive carnage being our main source of income, I tended to look at vehicle wrecks more analytically than empathetically. Years later, as a parent I can empathize with those who have had to cope with the loss of a son or daughter.
In the near future there will come a cause for this accident. My bet is it will come down to driver error: either the semi driver was driving into the sun and missed a sign(s) warning of the stop ahead, or he was distracted or driving while tired. If you, like me, believe that life is more than just a series of random events, you might struggle with the idea that something good will come from such a tragedy. How could God allow this to happen? Easter wasn’t all that long ago. Judas had his role to play.
Where I am conflicted is the role of the media. On one hand, the media is no doubt responsible for a Go Fund Me page reaching epic proportions as Canadians and others around the globe have generously contributed to aid the families and survivors of this wreck. What gets me is when they pounce on the coroner for an honest mistake that the families involved were eager to forgive considering the circumstances. Perhaps they should spend a little time in a war zone before they attempt to create an issue of competency under stress.
Then there is the parade of experts and commentators getting in front of the cameras- not to mention the news anchors and reporters. When every local news outlet has the same coverage, it tends to overwhelm rather than inform. Here is my bone of contention: when did the public’s need to be informed supersede the rights of the affected to deal with loss and tragedy in private?
One could even go so far as to say that the media is helping to create the paranoia and adding to the trauma of those distant and not directly effected.
Public involvement in private issues usually involves catering to the lowest common denominator rather than a desire to help out the situation. In this case the money raised will go a long way towards helping the families and survivors recover (as much as possible) from this accident.
Otherwise, and I include myself here, Mind Your Own Damned Business.
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