Can We Be Real?

Can I just say something? Just throw it out there? I know that it is going to make a lot of people mad and face thoughts they'd rather not give a second glance. But this is something that needs to be said...

Dying doesn't make someone a good person. Don't get me wrong here. Sometimes after a death, it is a great time to celebrate the good of a person's life. But their death does not change the facts about their life. Good people die, and bad people die. And bad people aren't only the ones who are locked up in jail. It is not my place to judge people and make assumptions about what happens after death. However, I am sick of hearing people reassure families that their loved one is resting with God when there is a strong chance that they are not. Likewise, I am sick of hearing condemnations about who is going to hell, because it is no one's call but God's.

That being said, can we be real? Please don't go to funerals or memorial service to praise the bountiful life of someone you know to be a life-long abuser. Death does not make someone a good person...or a bad person. All we can do is accept at face value the facts we know about their life.

Do you know that it has been hypothesized that had John F. Kennedy lived through his presidency that he would currently be on a list of the Ten Worst Presidents instead of the Ten Best Presidents? An entire country was willing to forget the mistakes that the leader of our country had made in his years in office because his life was taken in such a tragic manner. I was not alive for this event so I can't say much of what my personal opinion would have been of the man, but it is publicknowledge that he made poor presidential decisions - as do all presidents because they are human.

Death is usually a time where we are brought together as family and community to celebrate a life that has reached its finish. But when we remember these indiviuals, we must remember everything about them. It is not only the successes that creates incredibe stamina and character in a person, but the failures, as well. It is not only the abhorrent actions that make someone a monster, but the humanity they still possessed. Every little piece is significant. Death doesn't make people saints or monsters; it only opens our eyes to the realizations about these people that we should have reached while they were alive.

Don't put people on pedestals. They always fall off.