Placate

We do so much just to make ourselves feel better and then try to add meaning to it as if to convince that we're "making a difference." News item locally about a "candlelight vigil" for a teen that was shot and killed a few days ago. I hesitate to comment but it does make me wonder about the superficiality of things like this. Why a candlelight vigil? What purpose does it serve but a public display of "We really cared about __________."? And isn't that display for the benefit of other living people to show that you're "in" with the "in" crowd? If you don't attend the vigil, does that make you an insensitive person to the plight of those "honored?" If the vigil garners only a few people, is that an indication of how little the fallen one was loved? If the vigil turns out hundreds and thousands of candle-holding participants, does that make the person "really" popular, even in death? Love it, a popularity contest for the deceased.

People don't question certain rituals and whether or not they have any meaning. They just do them, blindly. Like the pigeon dance. I guess it's my biggest beef with organized religion in general, the empty meaningless ritual and the heavy, guilt-laden obligation to perform that motivates it.