Don't Let Anyone Kid You -- Bad Things Are Lining Up To Hurt
Our Community... If We Don't Stand Up For Ourselves
News/Analysis and OPINION By J.R. Campbell, ANN
CEO/Editor-In-Chief
If my life can be tied to one philosophical statement above all
else, it is this: It is a tragedy to die before
your time... but it is the worst kind of tragedy not to
LIVE until you die.
It has been a tough weekend... people we respected, and even
loved, have gone to meet God and the very joys that have been the
cornerstone of our lives are well and truly under attack...
and I fear that there is much more... and worse... to come.
And yet, we barely have time to grieve.
Grief we feel for those we never met but were most assuredly our
Brothers and Sisters in Flight and grief for a friend who went down
while trying entertain thousands in WV, and another who became a
good friend and inspiration to me and so many others, who
went down in Reno... These are raw, emotional times, and tough to
deal with -- both for the grief we feel now -- as well as for the
renewed and ever-present personal grief I can't but help to remember and feel all over
again for that lovely little girl I lost two years
ago... a wound that was ripped wide open, again and
again, by the fresh horrors of this God-Awful weekend.
Still; I have so much to feel proud about -- as I watch this
amazing community wrap their arms around each other to support
everyone in need of comfort -- to the racers and
race officials that acted so professionally and
compassionately -- to the First Responders who waded into the
danger, HazMat and gore to offer help to those suffering -- to the
community at large that did not panic, did not act out, and DID
behave in a wholly impressive, supportive, caring, kind and awesome
manner. I have SO looked forward to hearing more of their stories
and telling of each and every one that I can document so that
people understand that in the midst of the toughest times, heroes
emerge... and that in the aviation world, heroes are both
commonplace and yet, none-the-less still amazing. God, I love being
an aviator and being a part of THIS community -- because so ,many
of you have shown yourself to be MY heroes in more ways than I can
possibly express... at least not today. Perhaps, Tomorrow... but
for now, you never cease to amaze me.
I was appeared to sleep on that... maybe even get my first full
night's sleep in days -- and then I saw this bullshit (on a
URL that blatantly was reserved and operated
as www.renoairshowcrashattorney.com)... and literally, truly,
physically fought the urge to vomit. I barely succeeded, but I
still feel ill.
There are those who live off the sufferings of others... and
while I'm sure that there is a time and place for a more genteel
version of this thing, now (in my opinion) is NOT it...
Look at this (and others like it)... this is, in part, what our
society has become. Blame someone... sue someone... RIGHT NOW. And
this, in part, has taken a once proud concept of the law... of
learned people helping those who needed assistance with the
problems of life, and bastardized it beyond all recognition...
It is this kind of social disrespect that is destroying our ability
to seek the lives we choose and the very future of our community--
and ultimately, the ability to determine our own destinies. And
lest I say more and enough that might get me sued, I ask you to
look at this thing and ask yourself, and all those around you, if
this is the kind of thing you want to set the conditions that
dictate (in part) how your life will be lived now and on into the
future.
What a heartache this week has been...
Yesterday, I stated the following... and today it still applies
-- since my heart and soul are simply too beat up to ponder this
any further, FOR NOW, I reiterate what I stated yesterday and ask
for YOUR thoughts on this matter.
Life Just Ain't Safe To Live...
A risk averse society, fed by a number of government and media
entities seeking to provide cradle to grave 'safety' for all those
too scared to make their own decisions and live their own lives may
react in a way that does create new and aggressive restrictions for
Air Racing and other aviation activities. The aviation world has a
tough job ahead of it... it needs to show people how hard we work
to be safe, and that when accidents do happen, that free people
have made intelligent decisions to accept a some risk to live a
much larger life. You can go through life afraid to die... or you
can live a life that celebrates every second you have before God
calls you home. Three guesses what most pilots choose?
Still... we can not discount the impact of the fact that ten
people lost their lives this weekend due to some
relationship/participation with the aviation world... and so we
must be respectful, circumspect, professional and careful with
every word we say when confronted by those who would seek to take
our life choices away from us. A tragedy has occurred... some dear
friends and loved ones have died... we can not make light of that,
but we can respect the fact that each of them were where they were
by choice and were living exciting moments in their lives. And yet,
for ten people, 'that call' had to be made to countess loved ones,
friends and family to explain the ultimate tragedy of life... that
none of us are getting through this game of life without it ending
at some point. I've gotten 'that call' myself and I will never
forget the first few minutes of realization that something awful
happened to someone I loved... but I was cognizant right from the
start that she was where she was because she loved every second of
the life she led and was chasing her dreams every second of her
life. We must mourn our losses... and we must celebrate the lives
we choose to lead, despite the rare and unforgiving consequences
that happen no matter how safe we try to be. And yes, we need to
respect what happened... and look to the future. For the moment,
that means being ready to defend our way of life and to make sure
that the aviation world, in all its many facets, stays freely
available to those of us who want to enjoy every amazing second of
it. And -- that means that we need to look closely at what we do,
examine our procedures, choices, and actions, and set forth to make
RENO 2012 a certainty -- changing what needs to be changed (IF
changes really do need to be made), and celebrating every
high-speed second of it -- as so many of those who were there this
week (and even those that will never return) would like us to
do.
Further; there will be stories to be told in weeks to come...
stories not of tragedy, but of heroism and professionalism and
selflessness. Be sure to contact us with all those that you hear
and let us know who to talk to... as these are stories that will
truly need to be heard and told the world over. Aviation may have
its hazards and its tragedies... but it also has its heroes and
many moments of incredible excitement and amazing joy.
So... let's make an agreement here and now... let's look at what
we can do to make these events safer, because that is the right and
proper things to do... and let's all plan to meet in Reno a year
from now and be prepared to go full throttle, turn left and go
fast.
Thankfully, the aviation world, in the case of the Air Racing
and Airshow stories that transpired this weekend are presented by
some exceptional people and organizations. At Reno, we saw the Air
Race officials work professionally, quickly and respectfully to
deal with an awful happenstance... we saw CFR personnel rush to the
scene of the crash and work rapidly and impressively to deal with
the horror laid out before them... we saw the aviation-oriented
spectators work to help those in need, fail to panic and act in a
calm and non-reactionary way. I was proud to know that these people
were part of my aviation family. I am particularly proud of the
work done by RARA's Mike Houghton (and his amazing organization)
and thoughtful way the NTSB dealt with all those looking for
ridiculous easy answers to a complex tragedy. Just as impressive,
we saw and were made aware of the work of the International Council
of AirShows, who has never been run and staffed so professionally
as it is right now -- and for that the entire aviation world should
bow down and give great thanks... If this matter was left in the
hands of the average 'Alphabet Association' we would have been
throughly screwed.
Still... I strongly believe that we have tough times ahead of us
and that there is no time like the present to start preparing to do
whatever it takes to preserve a way of life, our community, and our
right to make our own choices. Aviation's future remains
precarious, and this weekend's tragedies will be used to endanger
it further. It is up to each and every one of us to make sure that
we are in charge of our own destiny and that we stay intimately
involved in guaranteeing a future for our community, both for
ourselves as well as future generations... -- Jim Campbell, ANN
CEO/Editor-In-Chief