Sit Back and Let it Ride….

August 3, 2007 Sit Back and Let it Ride….

“We thought we had done all we could,” state bridge engineer Dan Dorgan told reporters not far from the mangled remains of the span. “Obviously something went terribly wrong.”   (Yahoo News – By SHARON COHEN and BRIAN BAKST, Associated Press Writers )

This statement caught my eye while reading the article on the I-35W bridge collapse. After putting together a picture article last week on the topic “Nature Speaks” this bridge collapse just reels it all home.  Can you imagine the devastation, shock, hurt, sorrow and pain experienced by those directly and distantly affected by the collapse of this bridge?

It is said that:

“The official death count from Wednesday’s rush-hour collapse stood at four, with another 79 injuries. But police said the death count would surely grow because bodies had been spotted in the water and as many as 30 people were still reported missing.” (Yahoo News – By SHARON COHEN and BRIAN BAKST, Associated Press Writers )

(Photo Courtesy of Nytimes.com)

The I-35W bridge is said to carry up to 141,000 vehicles a day. However, in 1990 the government gave the bridge the rating of “structurally deficient”. What is even more mind boggling, is the fact that there are 77,000 bridges with the same rating in the United States.  Now my question is, WHY ARE THESE RATINGS GIVEN IF THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE ACTED UPON?

What is the sense of having a rating system if the data collected from them are not going to prompt any changes? It saddens me to see how lightly we take God’s greatest gift to us-LIFE. Not only do we take our lives lightly, but we have no regards for the lives of others. We can not see the trauma this has caused to a number of families who have either received word that their loved one has died from this accident, or the worry and sleepless nights faced by the families of the 30 who have been reported missing.

Life has been given to us by God to enjoy. We were placed here to praise God through our lives. Everything we do, everywhere we go, every word we speak reflects the God we serve. Yet, we are constantly taking this gift of life and doing with it as we please. We take our lives-suicide. We take the lives of others-murder. We sit back on hazardous situations and let them ride – BRIDGE COLLAPSE. We declare war on the supposedly “weapons of mass destruction” and the innocent die –IRAQ

(By the way, we killed Saddam….Have we found Osama YET??? Let’s leave that alone)

Anyway, it is high time that we start taking our lives and the lives of others seriously. We will be held accountable for every action we take and for every life we have affected whether Good or Bad. Almost three thousand years later, the principle given to us by Christ still is the best policy: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Even the philosopher Plato offered up a deviation of this very principle: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”.

We need to get off our seats and stand up for what is right. This is not the time to sit back on situations, no matter how minor, and let them ride. If something isn’t working or if the foundation isn’t built right, DO something about it. Don’t just do all you can, but go above and beyond. Chaplain Barry Black said it best in his sermon “Good, just ain’t Good enough” strive for perfection.  Don’t just think about it. Once we start changing our frame of mind to accept this policy and implementing it as a way of life, we will have a higher regard for LIFE and this world will be a better place.

Let us commit to living this gift of Life the way God intended.

Praise, Thanksgiving and respect for the lives of others.

God Bless!

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