I only knew of Tim Hetherington from his photography in Vanity Fair and from reviews of his film, 'Restrepo'. As many have learned, Tim and a colleague were killed yesterday in Libya; he had sent a desperate tweet from Misrata decrying a lack of NATO support. One assumes he died shorty thereafter. I simply cannot imagine being in their situation: documenting a civil war in a foreign land, surrounded by bullets, bombs, and bloodshed. At moments like this, I stop to reflect upon my life, my circumstances, and specifically, my concerns.
My concerns facilitate and/or precipitate all sorts of feelings; after all they are quite real to me. In short, day to day issues impact my life. In the big picture, however, - and by that I mean the collective, scalable, infinite possibility of experiences - the issues that cause me concern are actually quite puny. For example, I do not wake up knowing I'm about to risk my life in dangerous and very threatening situations. Journalists like Tim do. Or, in his case, did. And like Tim, they do it in an effort to provide vivid, meaningful context to circumstances most of us can barely comprehend.
Responsibilities, finances, relationships, employment, family: without question, these things along with their attendant concerns are indeed worthy of consideration. Nevertheless, they still require perspective. After all, there are millions upon millions for whom they are unobtainable luxuries; the most desperate often resort to violence in an effort to seize and experience them. Their stories would likely pass unnoticed by those of us watching from more comfortable surroundings if not for people like Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, killed by a rocket propelled grenade attack.
Worth considering when fretting over a bathroom reno, a red light, or a line up.
