I think we’re too afraid of death.
Here are the facts: Humans, and all other living creatures, have a limited lifespan. Trees can live for thousands of years, growing and maturing and bringing life to the space they inhabit. Some species of tortoise survive for hundreds of years. Dogs grow up with us as children and usually leave us before adulthood. Gerbils have fewer years, and insects even less. We happen to exist somewhere in the middle of it all, at about 110 years maximum, depending on where on earth we live.
The short of it is this: We all die in the end. It might come sooner, or at the very latest possible. It could be natural or unnatural. It could be at the hand of another human being, or our own. So why are we so afraid of it?
Because it’s the end of our lives as we know them? Because we don’t have proof of anything afterwards? Worst case scenario, there’s nothing, and our conscience is snuffed out forever. Depending on your belief, there is promise of an afterlife, a heaven or hell, a rebirth as another being, a chance to try again, reward and punishment. But this doesn’t matter in this life.
We spend too much time fretting over life after death, and too little time living this one. We are afraid to do something dangerous, afraid to try something new, afraid to take chances on people or beliefs or dreams. We blame people for accidents, make them out to be preventable, and try to take money from them. We expect safety at all times, and are willing to give up important human rights to guarantee it.
Please
Let me tell you what life is: Yesterday, a man was killed as he went to work. He was an important man, and left behind many grieving friends and family. When everyone was gathered together to remember him and pray over him, a suicide bomber killed them. Over 70 human beings died, and a hundred more injured. This was done in the name of meaningless, faceless, religious terror, to people who try to make their lives and their world a better place. And do you know what happened after? More people came to the same place and picked up the bodies and treated the wounded. They gathered AGAIN, risking more life, to save life.
In America, a man died when his self-driving car had an accident. So to prevent this from happening again, there are people calling for bans on self-driving vehicles. This is our idea of safety. This is our activism. We stand and block the future for our mindless fear of death.
Should I ever pass away trying something new, do not rally against that thing. If others leave this life early, do not let grief cloud your judgement of humanity. The good of the many outweigh the needs of the few. My life must show this at all times. I hope yours does as well.
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