Insignificance

Why would the death of any one person matter more than that of any other? From where I'm sitting, which is somewhat comfortably on my couch, thank you very much, it depends a lot on where the TV cameras happen to be. There has been a lot of hue and cry about how the death of Michael Brown has been sensationalized by the liberal media. The immediate irony here is that the not-quite-so-liberal media has been very busy crying "foul," which has had the effect of ramping up the volume around the tragic events in Ferguson, Missouri. All the while men, women and children continue to die across the globe while we try and sort out just how much air time any of us deserve when it's our time to leave this mortal world.
I notice that here on this blog, I spent two days mourning the loss of Robin Williams. That's almost as much space as I gave our beloved dog Maddie when she went to that great big couch in the sky. Where are my priorities? For that matter, while I was busy reflecting on the world with and without Robin Williams, I completely bypassed the passing of Lauren Bacall. What was I thinking?
Quick answer: I wasn't. I was reacting. That's one of the things I am becoming more familiar with as I grow older. Death is always a wake-up call for those of us who remain. Trying to tease out the "why" is almost always a dead end, if you'll pardon the expression. Then again, why should you. As the poet Marilyn Manson once wrote: "The death on one is a tragedy. The death of millions is just a statistic." Strong stuff, especially coming from a guy who was periodically pointed to as the cause of death for many of our young Americans. Without ever picking up a gun. There's that media thing again.
That is why I paused to read an article about Mark David Chapman. He killed John Lennon nearly thirty-four years ago in a vain attempt to make himself famous. John Lennon is dead. Mark David Chapman is alive. What sense does that make? If matters at all, Mister Chapman told a parole board that he is sorry for what he did on that December night back in 1980. "I am sorry for causing that type of pain. I am sorry for being such an idiot and choosing the wrong way for glory." It makes me wonder if there is a right path to glory. CNN and Fox News? If that's glory, I'll take insignificance.