Fire tragedy gives us all something to ponder

Most everyone in this area has been affected in one way or another by the three deaths that resulted from the fire at Dutchtown, Mo., last week.

There are those who have experienced similar tragedies in their own families and know the pain of losing loved ones under circumstances beyond their control.

There are those who have children of their own who are the same ages as the 21-year-old father, 16-year-old mother or 4-month-old child who perished in the blaze. For them, there is agony in simply wondering, privately or to each other: What if that had been our child?

There are those who knew the three victims intimately and are mourning the loss of loved relatives and friends.

In all these cases, the anguish is real. And it is appropriate.

There is also a collective sadness as a result of the fire and the three deaths. It stems largely from details about the families affected most: the relatives of the young father and mother. These are details that have been widely reported in the news media, including the Southeast Missourian. These details have been the subject of numerous letters to the editor and Speak Out calls, some of which have not been published because they would only inflict additional pain.

Regardless of the circumstances of why the young family was in a storage shed at the time of the fire, the loss of these three lives have made us all aware of something important.

We have learned that there aren't always simple explanations for events that result in the loss of life.

We have learned that easily reached assumptions rarely ever -- and certainly not in this case -- explain a tragedy to everyone's satisfaction.

We have learned the heartbreak that comes from rancor between families and friends when those we love are taken from us in ways we probably will never understand.

For so many of us, there is a sense of helplessness. But there are things we can do.

We can let the families that have suffered the most because of the fire know that we share their sorrow.

We can find ways to help, particularly by donating to funds that have been established to defray the enormous expenses that accompany such tragedies.

We can look at our own lives and our own families to see if there are steps we should be taking to avoid a similar tragedy.

We can find ways to heal divisions and bitterness that separate us from our loved ones.

There is no way to take away the sorrow of this past week. But we can all show that we care.