Death and Meaning

People used to die while they did things. People used to die a lot. Sometimes they still do.

Like when human beings built massive bridges and skyscrapers, hundreds of people would die. When human beings would try to travel around the world by navigating the oceans, half the crew wouldn’t make it home. When early Homo sapiens went down the road to pick up some food, they might get gored by a caribou or pounced on by a massive saber-toothed cat.

Imagine the adventure that would bring! Life would be absolutely harrowing. Daredevils, now a dying breed of irrational entertainer, used to fill the human population.

Imagine how much better your life would be if, whenever you drove to the grocery store, there was a huge chance that you would be ambushed by some animal and mortally wounded. Sure, you might get killed at a young age or the fear of such an attack would deter you to leave the safety of your home too often, but whenever you stepped off of your front stoop, you’d know you would be about to encounter some kind of excitement.

Now, whenever you need to stock up on your cheesy puffs, you get in your 5-star, crash tested Subaru, crank the Bon Jovi and drive at a safe, rational speed. It’s now just a thing you do.

Hundreds of boats, massive and towering ships, cut through the open ocean like they’re floating on Lake Placid. Thousands of people (maybe more, I don’t know) get on these nigh-indestructible behemoths and bob around in the sea. Sailors used to get on creaky, wooden tubs, sealed with tree sap and plunge into the unknown. They had to rig sails and swab decks and hunt whales, knowing that one slip, one mistake, would really suck. Imagine the tension. Imagine the exhilaration that success would bring, success at such high stakes, success that literally any human being in society could access. Just get on a ship and try to survive.

Where does that adventure exist in today’s world?

Now, most of us pay thousands of dollars to get on our cruise liners, sip daiquiris and wait for the end.

Death is no longer a challenging obstacle to be grappled with and conquered; now it’s just an inevitable destination that fills our lives with dread.