Local opinion: Needless deaths that diminish us
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
— John Donne (1572-1631)
In contemplating John Donne's meditation on the involvement of each life within each life, on the value of life and how each death personally diminishes us, I have to wonder why anyone has to die needlessly. Why does anyone have to be an innocent victim? Shouldn't we all be involved in mankind, as Donne notes? Are we all not responsible for the good of all mankind?
It staggers my mind that people today have this propensity to consider another life worthless and therefore bring about actions that will cause that life to cease. It would seem only logical that we humans would view life as an indisputable right and respect it as such. Death is inevitable, and a natural death is the sacred right of each individual. Therefore, to interrupt that pattern of nature, to choose who should live or die, is to violate the very essence of human sanctity. No one should be allowed to determine another's cause of death. However, in today's society, it appears to me that the sanctity of life is being superseded by a strong pattern of individualism. The focus is on "me," and therefore the preservation of life becomes a self-protective survival instinct, eliminating all concern for others.
Which brings me to the matter of war. On the list of human idiocies, war, in my estimation, is at the top of that list. Shamefully, it is also the most ancient one. I cannot remember in my lifetime, which has been a long lifetime, when there hasn't been a war in some place in the world. And in every instance, there have been civilian deaths. Innocent men, women and children are victimized because someone has deemed that people must die so they can conquer someone else's land. There is only pretense, and no definitive action is taken to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians. Are we not, as John Donne points out, involved in mankind? Does anyone's death diminish us? Apparently not.
Which brings me to mass shootings in the United States. Currently there are 393 million guns in our nation. The 2020 census shows the population to be 331.9 million, which means there are more guns in our country than people. According to US News, the United States has the highest gun ownership in the whole world. And many of those have been used to kill innocent citizens through mass shootings, including unsuspecting children. Mass Shooting Tracker reports that thus far in 2024 there have been 521 mass shootings with 618 deaths and 2177 wounded. In 2023 there were 656 incidences of mass shootings. And our leaders do nothing to stop this carnage. Are they not involved in mankind? Doesn't any death diminish them? Apparently not.
I doubt that I will ever receive an answer to my question of why anyone has to die needlessly. All the answers given don't tell me why innocent people must die. I don't hear truths, but only excuses. And in essence those excuses are killing the innocent ones. As long as we pretend there isn't anything we can do, then there will remain nothing we can do. As long as innocent people are killed, we remain a defunct and corrupted society. Therefore, as fate would have it, we should never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for us.
Robert Nordmeyer of Tucson is a freelance writer and concerned citizen.
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