There is a sign over the highway that lists how many people have died so far on Texas roads this year. (It’s warning us to be careful.) The number I last saw was 2,157. 2,157 people died. That’s a lot of people, but it’s just a sign over a roadway. It’s just a number. Minimal impact.
A crazy person goes into an elementary school, guns down 20 children, and rips our hearts out. 20 innocent children. It’s unbearable to ponder. Still.
There had to be at least 20 children killed in that traffic toll of 2,157, but somehow it’s just not the same. It’s a mind boggling disconnect. Of course the death of a friend or loved one has a greater impact than the death of a stranger, yet there is more to it than just proximity and knowledge. The children killed in an elementary school on the other coast are no nearer or known to us than the nameless children killed in traffic right here in our own state. Death is so absolute, yet at the same time so relative; the impact is relative and I don’t even know relative to what.
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