"We Value Your Life"

As I drove out of the parking lot where I was fishing this morning, I noticed a sign that said, "Buckle up, we value your life!"
I couldn't help but think about the news I heard this morning that Robin Williams took his own life. Since the age of 13 when my friend Steve committed suicide, I have realized the devastating effects of such an act and how it scars the friends and family of the person who caused his or her own death. How tragic, when people who want to live, die prematurely. My Boy Scout friend, Joe, died last month unexpectedly. My friend Charlie died a couple of years ago of failing health. Both of these people were age 50 and neither wanted to go so soon.

A horrible headline last week told of a 12-year-old who stabbed to death a 9-year-old on a playground in Michigan. Yesterday an argument at a gas station (a few miles from where I was at the time) ended in a man shooting his companion to death. In fact, every day there is death and murder both near and far. Humanity by nature, seems to be a bloody and violent bunch. Yet, "we" also preach the other side—that life should be preserved at all cost! It is implied in that sign, "Buckle up, we value your life!"

I hope that one day, we as a society will really learn to value and respect life.

Nanoo nanoo!