Titan Tragedy
Five human beings nearly two and a half miles beneath the ocean surface, all dead within a Titan submersible laying like a dead puppy alongside its dead mother, both coffins of what once was and reminders of what could have been otherwise. Tragedy lay alongside tragedy.
The Titanic, like an ancient sage, still tells the tale of human arrogance to disregard nature’s laws, willing to take risks too far beyond one’s knowledge and skill. Like Santiago, in Hemingway’s masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea, it whispers, “You went out too far, old man. You went out too far,” reminding us that the sea yet reigns supreme in its primal majesty and power. The drama of ages speaks to us again and again and again. If only we are to listen.
The Greeks were well familiar with tragedy. It could be argued that they brought the art of tragedy to its highest level of perfection. Sophocles, regarded by many as the greatest of the Greek playwrights produced his masterpieces, Oedipus Rex and Antigone.
And Shakespeare would have no second place to the Greeks, writing his own timeless tragedies of King Lear, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet.
News of the tiny Titan’s loss and subsequent implosion has filled the internet posts non-stop. Riding the waves of concern, then worry, then resignation, and finally confirmation. The tsunami of dreadful reality has been relentless.
Now, even days later, the internet posts still discuss previous warnings of construction safety, questions of full risk disclosure, stories of those who chose to cancel their planned dive into the hidden depths and darkness… to a frightening graveyard known as the Titanic.
How is it that tragedy stirs us so?
Tragedy seems to carry with it a sense of fascination, does it not? Is there not some vicarious interest in ,the sudden loss or death of another? Who was involved? Why did it happen? Who’s to blame?…all speak of a curious fascination of the event and the circumstances of loss. We observers thirst for all the grim details.
But does the experience of tragedy have to end with that vicarious fascination? As human beings, can it instead morph into a sense of empathy for those still overcome and drowning in their despair? Can it flow into sympathy with their pain, suffering, and grief that so suddenly erupted into their lives with the force of a tidal wave?
No post describes the pain and the suffering of loved ones and friends.
No post shows compassion and empathy but instead is quick to arouse suspicions of misconduct.
No post speaks of the brevity, frailty, and vulnerability of life.
Does that say anything about who we have become as human beings? Fascinated with the drama, but disinterested in the details of human pathos. Could it be that we’ve become desensitized in a way, to tragedy? Viewing it like a play upon a stage, or a movie upon the screen with some remote connection with reality but yet held distantly from individual participation. Does it hurt too much to care? Or are we so disinterested to care? Has empathy become passé? Or neglected? Or disavowed?
The Greek playwrights were masterful in their ability to translate the events and circumstances of artistic tragedy into the language of personal experience. They offered a lifeline of connectedness between ultimate truths and personal experience. Tragedy, whether performed on the stage or experienced in real life should teach us something about who we are as individuals and how we can best relate to others, particularly in their time of despair. It shakes us, hits us in the gut, and opens our souls to eternal questions. Do humans have any intrinsic value? Do we have any purpose in life? Do we have any future hope beyond life? Do we have any responsibility to care for others?
Are we still able to learn from our tragedies, like the Greeks? Or are we best suited now for only critique and criticism? Have critique and criticism now become our first responses to the tragedy of others? Is there still any time for genuine compassion amongst the click bait and fast scrolling driven by our curiosity?
Tragedy is but one channel towards an appreciation and experience of empathy. Empathy demands an engagement and an understanding of another person and their circumstances. It involves an identification of their loss and pain, and an investment into their suffering.
Yes, tragedy shows us our foolishness, our ignorance, our stubbornness, and our naivete. However, its lessons can also lead us into a greater awareness and participation in one of the noblest of human virtues; empathy, that of caring for others in their hour of need. May it ever be so.