Now there’s a cheery thought to start off the new year. What a spectacle it’s been with the three major deaths in the news all at the same time. And what a trio: a villianous dictator/murderer, a past president, and the godfather of soul.
So what is it about death that makes us want to watch? Why have the masses been queing up to “say goodbye” to people they never met in life. How many hundreds walked through the rotunda and the Apollo theater to “pay their respects”? Millions watched on tv as the godfather’s gold casket arrived at the Apollo by horsedrawn carriage and a processional entourage. Today millions will watch Ford’s funeral and many will cringe while the current president delivers a eulogy — an honor that comes with the office and cuts both ways. But what’s really scary is how many millions of people would really have liked to have witnessed Sadam’s execution.
Maybe we all have a dark side, or maybe we like to view the dead to reassure ourselves that we’re still alive — you know, kind of like laughing at the guy who slips on the banana peel. Maybe we want to see the really bad guys die with our own eyes — seeing is believing. Of course, in the midst of all of this, we took a time out to watch the Rose Parade — those of a certain age watched especially to see the Star Wars’ Storm Troopers — followed by four games where bunches of guys tackled one another. What fun! But I didn’t stick around long enough to see how many, if any, got carried of their battle field.
You know I’d opt for music over politics or hoopla any day — perhaps a nice little requiem for the salvation of the souls of the departed.