cB News____issue #1, read all about it Options

[cBNewsStaff]

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Editors’ Notes

This is the first issue of the cB Newletter. The idea of a cB newsletter spawned from and quickly took over a thread entitled “news and announcements” (sorry Justin) in the new feedback subforum. We currently have eight active staff members to bring you cB news and editorials as well as news related to your lives outside of cB.

If you haven’t read our interview about the CreateBlog’s illusive creator--Micron, the review about Transylvania, or Advice Abby’s latest responses, read them and other articles now in our first CreateBlog News publication.

Staff who participated in this issue:
Editors: MarchHare2UrAlice (James), CrackedRearView (Justin), Suddenly She (Ruth), ChasingLife87 (Meli), uninspiredfae (Fae)
Reporters: sadolakced acid (Mr. Acid... erm, Justin), CrackedRearView (Justin), Despise (Brie), Ichigofan (Carolina), allthatglitterss (Grace)
Runner: mzkandi (Kiera)

If you would like to contribute to cB news or join its staff, contact Fae (uninspiredfae) or James (MarchHare2UrAlice)

[cBNewsStaff]

A Culture Without Death
Justin [Sadolakced Acid]
06|01|05

Let's face it. Americans are apathetic of death. Hundreds of thousands of people can die, and all Americans do is throw money at it, or pretend help. Americans fail to realize each one of those numbers is a life. And not only a life, it was a hope, it was plans, it was loved ones, it was jokes among friends.

2,986. A number. A big number. The number of people killed in the September 11th attacks. We, a culture, look at that number and think, “gosh that's a lot of people”. We try to imagine: "hmm... that's two large high school's worth of people". We try to visualize it, with sticks in a lawn, or candles at a vigil. We count it out, in paperclips, jelly beans, and names.

Yet 2,986 is more than a number. It is not a casualty count. It is Christine Lee Hanson, age 2, from Groton, MA who was on UA flight 175. It is David Reed Gamboa Brandhorst, age 3, from Los Angeles, CA, also on flight 175. It is Dana Falkenberg, age 3, from University Park, MD, on AA flight 77. It is Juliana Valentine McCourt, age 4, from New London CT, on UA flight 175.

These are the first four 'casualties' when the list of 'casualties' is view by age, starting with the youngest. To see the rest, go to the CNN september 11th memorial .

2,986 is not just a number. Christine Lee Hanson is not just 'casualty number one'. She might have been a girl who liked barbies. Perhaps she was flying to see her grandparents.

Maybe it is because we call deaths 'casualties' that we have come to have such a casual attitude about it. Each number of that 2,986 is a person. Dreams that will never be dreamed again. Jokes that no one will hear. Each number is a casket, a tombstone. It is a funeral, with family. Number one is not number one, she is Christine. She had a life to live. Number one is more than just the first death. It is a first day of school that will never happen. It is a first date that will never show up. It is a driver's license that never gets issued. It is a prom dress that never gets worn. It is a possibility, gone.

We, as humans, write off death as something that happens. If we were to realize the magnitude of each death, we would not be able to survive. Yet, we Americans have, as a country, gone too far. We use 2,986 photos, 2,986 bricks, or 2,986 names to try to remind us. Yet this makes it a number. We need to remember, it's a first visit from the tooth fairy that will never come. That is what a death means. It is a life that will never be lived.

Today we look at the headlines; 9 killed in car bomb, 22 injured. Now look at it again. See behind the numbers. See who the numbers are. They are 9 tables that will have empty chairs tonight at dinner. They are 22 people who cannot play soccer, or basketball, or make a clay pot.

So today, when you look at the numbers, remember that they are not just numbers. They are lives that will never be lived, ice creams that will never be bought, stories that will never be told. Remember: they are not just numbers.


This article was inspired by Justin's (crackedrearview) thread in the debate forum.
A Culture Without Death ©2005 Sadolakced Acid