Exaggerations

With the news all buzzing about the midair collision in DC last Wednesday, we are hearing many comments; not all of which are appropriate. Usually people quickly seek to lay the blame. Even if there is a proper blame to be laid, it is not always helpful to talk about it this early on. We also hear comments like "we will do whatever it takes to ensure this never happens again". Sadly, we have to acknowledge that is not true. It will happen again.

No, I do not mean it will happen tomorrow, or anytime in the near future (I really have no idea about when). What I am saying is, a claim like "never again" presumes divine power. There is nothing we can do to avoid accidents, crashes, and deaths. We live in a fallen world, and things do not always go the way we want. We make mistakes, we sin, bad things happen as a result. Life itself is dangerous, and presuming that we can control the circumstances of everything around us is not only pompous, but is the root of totalitarian thinking.

Do we want this to happen again? No, of course not. Can we work toward preventing these things from occurring? Certainly; and we definitely should do so. Is it fair and appropriate to give people a false confidence that we can manipulate the world around us so that nothing is dangerous and everyone lives happy and safe lives? No it is not (no matter what the good intentions are). Let us seek for safety, but let us do so with honesty and integrity not exaggerations of reality.