Just a few weeks ago now, the third weekend in July 2011 was a weekend of loss. 92 people corralled and executed in Norway, many under the age of 25 years. Talented British musician Amy Winehouse died, at the age of 27. And the tragic daily deaths continued to mount due to an unprecedented drought in Africa.
The loss of life fed discussions, debate, and even disdain from people across the corners of the world. Many expressed belief that it was an inevitable outcome for Amy, that she should’ve gone to rehab, even that it was her own choice and her own weak doing. Others were appalled that Amy Winehouse would receive more attention than the Norway deaths. And a few railed at the lack of attention being paid to the lives being lost daily in Africa.
In the midst of this, I came across an unrelated article. It’s a theoretical opinion piece whereby the author observes a growing discourse about humanity and the value of human life. To the statement that ‘every human life is valuable’, he questions, is that true? And based on what tenets? Is it a religious reduction? He wonders if it bears its roots in the biblical belief that every human life is sacred and that by definition, it is a spiritual concept, versus a scientific one.
Is every human life valuable? Equally? And if so, why?
The heart of every one of us should break equally at each of the losses that weekend in July, for Amy Winehouse, for each of the 92 killed in Norway and for every single death in Africa. And for every loss to come today and tomorrow, with whatever inevitable crisis erupts in this societal chaos we are living in the midst of.
Because yes, every human life is valuable.
Because every human life is in part our own human life. Because every one of us is valuable and a death of any one of us is in some way a death in all of us. Because the degree to which we each, every human, tap into, and feel the importance of every human life, and the impact of the loss of every human life, is the degree to which we will each independently and collectively be fully human.
Every single human life has equal potential. We are all the same: genetic material brought together inside a womb, a heart, a soul, a spirit; altogether a being of potential. We are each born into immensely varied situations in many different parts of the world, and we live days and lives of radically different experiences. Of hurt and loss. Hopefully of joy and laughter too. But none of us humans choose what we are born into.
Because no single human life ever ‘chooses’ death. Those living in Africa would rather have lived; were the land they live on capable of keeping them alive, life is what they have. Those youth in Norway would rather have lived; had the hateful person not shot them each with a bullet, life is what they would have. Amy would rather have lived; had her heart and her spirit not been eating her from inside, life is what she would have. We humans are all the same. We all, we humans, want to live.
And that’s what makes us human. That’s why every human life is valuable. We are all each born of the same parts, with hearts, souls, spirits and equal potential. And we all, each of us, want to live. This is not religious belief. This is biological reality. We are all humans, built of the same components. Not one human living a productive, happy, healthy, safe life would rather die. And if every human had the opportunity to be productive, happy, safe and healthy, every single human would choose life every time.
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