Either we live by plan and die by plan, or we live by accident and die by accident. This according to the master playwright and novelist, Thornton Wilder. I was reminded of this quote from The Bridge of San Luis Rey when I heard a play based on this novel will be presented in Tucson in May.
I recalled how much I enjoyed teaching the novel because of the philosophical discussions it engendered even with the most recalcitrant students.
The concept, so simply stated yet so profound, truly pinpoints how a person feels about the world. My primary question to the students about this concept was whether it is a valid “either/or” because it seems to take free will out of the picture. And yes, it can relate to the murder of Stacey Burns; the anniversary is now just 19 days away.
Was it in the plan that she be removed from this planet in such a horrible way? Was it just an accidental set of circumstances placed people in her life at the wrong time? I don’t believe that either explains what happened. Human beings have the gift of free will, of acting or not acting on a thought or desire or ambition. We can direct our own plan. Unfortunately, Stacey did not get to complete her plan because an evil person, who did have free will of their own, chose to act. It wasn’t in God’s plan nor was it an accident. It was a deliberately evil and horrid act.
Seven years and counting, folks . . .What’s the latest that is happening in the intense, ongoing investigation of this murder?
Comments are more than welcome.
Duke
“Consequences are results. Natural outcomes. They are what results from the natural application of natural laws. They are that which occur, quite predictable, as a consequence of what has occurred. What seems like punishment to you, or evil, or bad luck, is nothing more than a natural law asserting itself”
Hi Duke,
I believe everything that happens is simply a random action. Of course, some actions can be the result of actions by people who are creating events that will alter the random action that does take place. As an example, a man has a supply of fresh apples. These apples are ripe, crisp and jucy.
He makes a sign that says: The Best Apples In The World, .50 cents each. and puts it up by the highway. In a few hours he has sold every apple he has. Were those actions of people stopping and buying and apple or two, following some pre-formed plan. Not really. They were random actions that were set in motion when the fellow put up his sign. So if you think about it, many of the thousands of choices you have to do something, go to a movie, buy a quart of milk or read a book, are influenced by someone else’s choices. They are all random. Trying to figure out why actions that happened during a 24 hour period, is impossible. You can guess what may have caused them to happen, but it’s only an educated guess.
When Ed asked me to look at his timber stand It was only natural that I, as a looger do it. When Stacey asked me to help her leave Ed (knowing what I had learned about the man during that job) it sure seemed like the natural thing to do. I take comfort in knowing my actions as well as my intentions were pure. I can’t speak for Eddie but I’ll never shut up for Stacey, It just seems like the natural thing to do.
There is a percentage of women out there that know too much about their man to ever be able to leave him. They know what he is and they know what he does. Stacey knew Ed would kill her if she ever tried to leave him but she did it anyway. She told me more than once that she would rather be dead than put herself and those kids through the pain and disfunction of living with Ed any more. Ed would even tell her how he was going to do it and how easy it would be to get away with. Three days before her murder I asked Stacey how everything was going with Ed, (we hadn’t spoken in a few weeks) she said very matter of factly “oh he’s going to kill me” I rolled my eyes and changed the subject.