BY : DOUGLAS FRANK
I see that something terrible has happened. I see also that most people are still frantically searching for their loved ones, donating their time and effort to rescue operations, or simply grieving for the innocent lives lost. This, then, in the immediate aftermath of this unthinkable tragedy, is the right time to just come out and say it: this horrible nightmare proves my point.
I have no qualms about using this horrific event to justify one of my long-held opinions. Tragedies like this have happened before, and I have consistently used them as an opportunity to go online and remind the hundred or so people that follow me of the bulletproof logic that underscores my perspective on the world. And this time is no different.
Perhaps you have read one of my many comments on Facebook on this topic. I took a class in university that tangentially relates to the awful events of the last few days, and did reasonably well, so I feel comfortable in asserting a deep knowledge of the issues involved. I also visited the location of the tragedy once, so I have a wealth of personal experience that informs my perspective.
Yes, to use just one of the many lazy idioms I often turn to in the wake of such events, the chickens have come to roost, folks. Our cowardly political leaders made this bed, and now they need to lie in it. We have had the wool pulled over our eyes on this issue for too long, and we can no longer keep kicking the can down the road. Wake up, sheeple!
Now, often those who lack my clarity of vision attack me for speaking too soon. How can you be so certain, they ask, before the officials investigating this tragedy have even reached a conclusion? Are you so shameless as to attempt to score political points while the bodies are still warm?
To the spineless naysayers: I am a product of both the 24-hour news cycle and the unending narcissism of social media. Of course I am! The world needs my opinion, and it needs my opinion now. More importantly, I lack both the capacity to absorb or tolerate contradictory information or the humility necessary to recognize that it’s impossible to identify a single cause so soon after such a horrendous incident has occurred.
To conclude, I’m proud to say I’ve been on the right side of this issue for years, and this tragedy perfectly confirms it. My unwillingness to engage with complexity has paid off, big-time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some self-congratulatory tweeting to do.
