Posted by There is no greater tragedy in the world than a story left unfinished.
I am not speaking of a script left gathering dust, or a novel stuck on chapter 11, or a poem that is nothing but vague words in the mind. These are unfortunate occurrences, but not tragedies. They can still be picked back up and finished, or remade as the author desires.
What I am speaking about is human life. We see it every day on the news, hear about it from friends, or think of when it happened in the past. Life taken too soon, severed from loved ones. Every time it happens, someone is left confused and angry, and that anger can risk boiling over, causing them to lash out at those around them. If the anger is confined to a single person, they may yell, or slam the door in the faces of their friends and family.
But what about communal outrage? What about when the injustices have been piling higher and higher for years on end, with no sign of slowing or stopping? When the anger is shared by a community, then the “lashing out” becomes riots or protests. Not only has a story been cut short, it also adds to an ever growing list of these ruined stories. We have seen it in George Floyd, and in Breonna Taylor, and in countless others in the endless striving for the basic human dignity of being considered equal to any other human being.
These stories will not — cannot — be finished. Instead, the threads have to be picked up and woven into something beautiful by those who knew the original.
As a final thought: I have heard many counter that these unfinished stories are stories of drugs, violence, sex, and other vulgar things. That there was nothing good to be found in them, so why is it such a great loss?
To those who ask that, I answer: The greatest stories ever told are those that end in redemption.