Death so cruel

I am seeing a lot of news related to death in the idiot box and also in newspapers. Maybe they were always there and I am beginning to see them only now. And this has made me nervous. Why? Because of the simple fact that I have begun to think of the increasing possibilities in which one can face it. When a person leaves the house to go to office, death is the last thing he will have in mind (for the sake of simplicity, I will use "he" which obviously implies "he/she"). He starts with the expectation of having a great day at work and he will be looking forward to coming back home and spending some quality time with his family. He goes to a railway station to board a train to reach his destination. And what happens next is played out in our news hungry 24 hour news channels (do we actually need news 24 hours a day?). He is killed by a bomb planted in a crowded compartment or falls prey to a bullet fired by a crazy individual who thinks he is obeying God's word. For the news media and the billions who watch it, he is just a number getting added to the "Dead" category. Just a statistic. But for him and his family, it is the end.

The end of a journey which started when he was born and his family celebrated his birth. A journey which took him to a school and gave him a lot of friends. He could have made a change in the lives of some of the people he interacted with. The fun he had when he was in college and the dreams he would pursue after finishing it will all go up in smoke. The dreams that changed a little when he got married. The joy he felt when he held his baby in his hand for the first time and the dreams he would have had for the baby. It will all be gone. What will be left in the place of all those dreams will be a shattered family and tearful friends. What a waste, what a waste. Did he come to this world for this? Should a life end like this? I don't think so. And I think this is crazy.

But who is this "he"? He is not an Army guy patrolling the border who knows that a bullet could fly in anytime. Nor is he part of a criminal gang which could be terminated in an "encounter" in the most unexpected hour. He is just a normal human being not expecting death in such a gruesome manner - just like you and me. And that - my dear friends - is the most scary part.