J.G. Vibes
Doesn’t this lack of priority and compassion show how out of touch this country is about the value of human life?
Why does the natural death of one old man, who has done relatively little for society, overshadow the countless number of innocent lives that are lost in war each and every day? Why is there no sympathy or public outcry for the souls of these innocent people who have been taken from this earth well before their time? Do the suffering children of the Third World need to get involved in televised sports for people in the West to show some sympathy for the abhorrent conditions that they are forced to endure on a daily basis?
Even if we forget about the recent shame that has been cast upon Joe Paterno and the rest of the Penn State staff, it is still a great injustice that his life holds more value in the hearts of Americans than the millions of people overseas who had their lives cut short.
There is a very sick idea in this country that American lives are somehow worth more than the lives of those who are living outside of our geographical area. We can see this in how our media and education systems talk about war and how a subhuman image is projected on those who happen to live somewhere else in the world. Even worse, we place people who have money and status on a pedestal, while at the same time completely debasing everyone else on the planet.
No single life is worth more than another, regardless of how much money one has or what geographical area on the earth they happen to call home. With that said, I feel that people in this country really need to get their priorities together and understand that when a defenseless child dies overseas, their life is worth just as much as the president of the United States . . . or even Joe Paterno.