Well, a fun day turned somber quickly. We were watching the Quad City Air Show and the unthinkable (or is it?) happened–one of the jets didn’t pull out of a maneuver and crashed. I still haven’t heard whether the pilot was killed, but I can’t see how (s)he could’ve made it out alive.
A lot has been swirling through my mind in the last hour or so as we futilly watched and then eventually left the show.
First is guilt for my crass comment as the planes split of–it didn’t look right the way it pulled away, but, thinking it to be part of the show, I glibly said “Oh, look, that one’s going to crash.” I glanced away for a second, heard my wife gasp, and looked back to see the fireball.
But that one’s an easy question to answer–I clearly shouldn’t have made the comment.
A couple harder questions come to mind, though. Am a complicit in a person’s death because I bought tickets to the show? For putting someone’s life in jeopardy for an adrenaline rush? Sure, pilots are paid to take that risk and I didn’t force him into it; I doubt that comforts the pilot’s family tonight though.
The second hard question was prompted by my 3- and 5-year-old sons’ reactions. Of course, they’re still young and don’t “get it” yet. When something gets a big reaction, it’s going to find its way into their play. But I wonder if, for example, by watching auto racing–where the crashes really are the most interesting thing–plays a part in numbing them to the severity of situations like this.
I’m not arguing that either NASCAR or air shows are wrong, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to think through some of these hard questions for myself and my kids.
I’m interested to hear what you think in the comments.