ON LOVE AND TRAGEDY

30.09.04


Something tells me that I will provoke reaction here. So much the better then. At first, I’m interested in being honest. This is why I should say that I’m not one of those whose love can be unrequited. As many other people, I am also a guy full of insecurities and this means that I hesitate to offer something without reward. On the other hand, every issue about which we are talking is a relevant one. If by the term love what we mean is good mood and offer to our neighbours, that’s fine with me. I can offer lots of love like that. But if we’re talking about love within the context of interpersonal relations and exchanges, i.e. the kind of love that comes out of daily contact and not a random meeting, then I get the impression that it’s too much to speak of love without any reward. If all this sounds strange to you, two things might be happening here: either you are very nice guys (and I am therefore very lucky to be friends with you) or you have really demystified the meaning of love. I agree with you on the fact that our acts of love set us free but I never want to pretend that I am a superman. I’d rather be loved. Am I to lie? Furthermore, if I’m loved, I must have done something good, which means that I can get away with a clear conscience.

As far as the feelings that I had for the tragic event are concerned, I say that I am sorry in general. I can’t feel more sorry for something that is not directly connected to my daily life. I think that those who abundantly express their condolences are hypocrites if the event is about people who are not known to them. Most of you will rush to judge my cruelty. But I can’t lie, not even in that case. I get the impression that my sadness and support are enough. What’s the point of saying that I’m devastated? How and why was I devastated? What do I take with me from the eternal absence of those kids? And, in the end, what’s the point of me mourning personally? Death is a part of life, whether wanting it or not. Thousands of people die every day and we don’t find out anything about them but, even when we do, we can’t do anything about it either.

In that case, the only thing we can demand is the betterment of the streets. Other than that, I get the feeling that the primary issue is not to render citizens stakeholders. This doesn’t have to do with the facts, as the war in Iraq, for instance. In such challenges of death, everybody has to express his/her opposition clearly, especially when they are responsible for the election of creeps like Bush. Nonetheless, when the unknown factor covers human mistakes, it gets to be even more difficult to find the guilty ones and say who is responsible and who isn’t, even when careless drivers are involved. Of course they are to blame but this is not the only thing that led to the tragedy. Anyway, my sadness does not correct the mistakes; neither does it turn back time. If I want to be honest, I should be sad as expected. Otherwise I look like a hypocrite.