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SyndicateThe Inevitable
By Robert Ringer - Monday, August 10, 2009
By Robert Ringer
What a horrific tragedy last Saturday when a small plane crashed into a helicopter and nine people plunged to their death in the Hudson River — the same river, ironically, where 155 people walked away unscathed from the crash landing of a US Airways commercial jet less than seven months ago. Whether an atheist, religionist, spiritualist, or agnostic, a person can go mad trying to make sense out of life.
Seemingly random deaths from airplane crashes, train wrecks, automobile accidents, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis … and endless freak accidents … leave a person scratching his head and resigning himself to the reality that, despite man’s best efforts to protect himself and his family, he cannot do much about the seemingly inevitable.
Saturday’s tragedy caused me to think about my own crash many years ago in a Learjet. The plane was totaled, but I and five others walked away unharmed. To this day, I have no explanation for how that was possible, but the fact is that it happened.
Fast forward thirteen years to a predawn automobile accident at a major intersection in Los Angeles. My nephew — a smart, ambitious, soft-spoken young man with a weightlifter’s build — died instantly from the bloodcurdling impact. Why him but not me? I will never know the answer to that question.
The only thing that makes any sense to me is to thank God … or the universe … or something every morning when you wake up and realize that you’re still alive — especially if you are fortunate enough to have relatively good health. Unfortunately, there are some who are reading this who have serious health problems, and I know, from firsthand experience with my own family, how difficult that is to deal with.
I am sensitive to the feelings of those with serious health conditions, and always mindful not to be presumptuous when giving advice. “Until you’ve walked in my shoes,” the person on the receiving end of such advice might be thinking, “don’t presume to tell me what will make me feel better.”
However, when things are going badly in my own life, I first try to remind myself how much worse off millions of other people are. And at the top of the list are those who meet a fate like that of the nine people whose lives ended in what must have been a terrifying plunge into the Hudson River on Saturday. Something like that gets your attention and makes you realize that your situation is better than “the alternative.”
Second, I remind myself of all the things I have to be grateful for, the kinds of things that most of us take for granted. All too often, the best things in life — such as your relationship with a loved one — are not fully appreciated until they are gone.
Third, I tell myself that whatever I’m going through is a test of faith. I know this is difficult for those who think of themselves as atheists, but, if nothing else, perhaps they can think of it in pragmatic terms … you know, sort of an “insurance policy” faith.
Speaking for myself, I look at the universe and find it incredulous to believe that all those trillions of massive balls of gas and rocks and dirt and minerals (How did they ever get to be near-perfect spheres?) that are spinning perfectly around massive “balls” of fire — as well as each other — are doing so randomly. If I don’t believe in a Conscious Universal Power Source, then I have no choice but to believe in fairy tales, for that is the only other explanation of the universe.
Simplistic to some, I’m sure, but that’s my take on the inevitable. My sympathy goes out to the families of the victims of the Hudson River crash. May their loved ones rest in peace. Which of us is next, and how it will happen, no one knows. So let’s do the only thing we can do and make every effort to make today the best day of our lives.
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Copyright © 2012 Robert Ringer
ROBERT RINGER is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, The Tonight Show, Today, The Dennis Miller Show, Good Morning America, The Lars Larson Show, ABC Nightline, and The Charlie Rose Show, and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times.
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8 Responses to “The Inevitable”
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A wise and compassionate column.
Thanks so much for the respite from endless political despair…
To be frank, I have been seriously considering ending my subscription, primarily because of Robert’s political ramblings. But today’s article touched me in a very profound way and I hope to see more of that in the future. Thank you, Robert, for the very eloquent reminder that our lives are to be cherished every single day.
Dear Mr. Ringer,
The Earth is neither a “perfect sphere,” (check out Mt. Everest) nor does it spin perfectly — in fact it wobbles. Galactic bodies collide and explode from time to time. Spherical shapes are common due to the principle of conservation of energy, not because God likes spheres.
Natural order doesn’t prove the existence of God; to the contrary, proof of a supernatural being requires supernatural phenomena, i.e., phenomena that violate natural laws, in other words, a miracle. One can’t rationally assert both that evidence of an event that contravenes the order of nature is proof of God and also that evidence of an an orderly universe also proves the existence of God.
It’s true that order exists in the universe, that there is regularity in nature, and that entities will behave in the same way under the same circumstances. But it is not valid to infer from this the existence of any master designer. On the contrary, order is simply the manifestation of causality, and causality is a derivative, a logical corollary of the Law of Identity.
It’s interesting to me that so many resist the concept of a purely natural universe.
<If I don’t believe in a Conscious Universal Power Source, then I have no choice but to believe in fairy tales, for that is the only other explanation of the universe.
one’s CUPS is another’s fairy tale. and vice versa. how about: this is what we know, and this is what we don’t know and this is what can (probably) never be known?
the world is awash in beliefs, and that is a large portion of the problem, maybe all of the problem.
Very good article. I have to agree sometimes, actually most of the time we take our time here on Earth for granted. We need to make of the most of our days when we realize how short they really are.
Most importantly try not to control things we can’t control. It is easy to have a pity party about our boss, our kids, our friends and our government. The thing we need to realize the only thing that can change is us and we are in charge of that change.
Dear Robert,
I enjoy your writings and appreciate the fact that you have so much to be thankful for! I to try and thank my “Higher Power” for all my blessings everyday! However, for someone who has been so blessed as yourself, I can’t help but wonder why you spew out so much venomous hatred for the President of these United States? I mean I know he is a politician, but he is also a father with two young daughters. I can’t help but believe that he must care enough about them to not want to leave a legacy of destruction! Is he really doing worse than the man he followed?
Answer to Joe M:
What “venemous hatred”? That RR is squarely opposed to BO’s far left policies does not equal personal hatred. I’d wager that if BO dropped his statist positions and became an advocate for limited government and free markets, RR would be the first to applaud. FYI, Stalin had a daughter as well — that fact doesn’t mean a person’s actions cannot be critiqued.
airplane crashes…
Your topic Disconfirmation Bias – Telic Thoughts was interesting when I found it on Sunday searching for airplane crashes as I also have articles and information posted on this subject. Thank You… Steve Noel Sr….