I don't want to seem cold-hearted or calloused, but I've had enough of the headlines about Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. If these words ring familiar in your head, it's because five years ago I wrote something similar about Michael Jackson's death and for the same reason .... the misuse of the word "tragic."
Today I read a well-written article by Michael Rinehart inviting us to see God's message of grace in the face of our human nature to project judgment at a time like this death. But before I could get to the heart of Rinehart's excellent message I got stopped because he referenced Hoffman's death as "tragic", and I simply couldn't agree (in fact my wife and I have had several conversations about this in the last few days).
It's unfortunate that a single word would stop me in my tracks, but I think "tragic" has been misused in media coverage and in headlines. It's not that I don't find Hoffman's death disturbing, sad, painful, or surprising, it's just that I don't find it tragic. And maybe it's not that his death isn't tragic as much as there are plenty of headlines and stories that should be labeled "tragic" that simply aren't.
And maybe that's the real issue, we've reserved the word "tragic" only for those that we don't have a personal relationship with, that we admire from afar, that have achieved as certain status in the world. It's as though along with the millions of dollars, the entourages of people, the ability to live above the law (or at least below the grid) celebrities are the only ones who get to meet their end in a tragic way and I think that cheapens so many who experience tragedies in their lives.
As I type these words, I admit, I may be wrong. It may be that Hoffman's death is tragic. I may have a bigger problem with the fact that we don't see the many other tragedies that surround us each day and touch our lives in more meaningful ways.
