The media, politicians and government bodies are rarely providing CONTEXT on the current epidemic. Below are 3 decontextualised factoids used in whole or part. and without proper context by the media and government representatives, either to stoke fear or gain attention or both. Some important context for them has been added in order to reasonably inform the reader. Firstly, though, here are 4 opinions - 1 liberal and 3 humanist - that I hold, which themselves provide context for what follows.
1. Every individual has an equal right to life.
2. Coming to terms with suffering and mortality is a challenging, but necessary part of the human condition.
3. An end to a life that occurs towards the end of a natural life span is tragic.
4. An end to a life that occurs at the beginning or middle of a natural life span is a greater tragedy.
Therefore, and although it may be considered a small mercy, among the many lives lost in a tragedy, a majority of lives that are not lost towards the beginning of their natural lifespans is a mercy nonetheless.
That is to say...
An airplane crash populated mostly by octogenarians is a terrible tragedy.
An airplane crash populated mostly by children is a different scale of tragedy.
