Media is awash now in stories about the storied maiden voyage of the ill-fated luxury White Star Liner, Titanic, that sank in April of 1912, after hitting an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland, in the North Atlantic Ocean. A shockingly large number of souls lost their lives as the unthinkable happened: The Titanic was not unsinkable and did, in fact, sink.
As a child, my parents had a Reader's Digest Condensed-Version book that detailed a ship disaster between the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm, off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The books text and pictures were fascinating to me and I would read the story over and over about how the Andrea Doria sank.
Is the human race genetically driven to be drawn to disasters?
A recent article by a leading sociologist suggests that mankind has been drawn to tragedies and disasters since recorded history and probably well before then, too. The question of "why" pops into my head instantly and this particular article did address that human quirk. Perhaps we are programmed toward fascination in order to learn from others' mistakes that end in tragedy. Is our fascination a method of survival?
The sinking of Titanic has resulted in Titanic becoming an adjective in and of itself. It is not uncommon to hear someone refer to a debacle of titanic proportions. You know when you hear the phrase titanic proportions that you are going to hear about a massive screw-up or distaster. I even referred to the mounting mess in my office as a titanic and colossal paper pile-up. (No disrespect intended for the victims of Titanic's sinking or their families and loved ones,)
If I cannot get a rapid handle on the titanic mess in my tiny office, I shall have a meltdown of titanic proportions. I hope and pray I am not genetically driven toward creating a self-disaster.
Not pretty.
RIP, Titanic souls
