Failure and success.I got to thinking about all those New York firemen who went up into the doomed World Trade Centre four years ago today. Sure, they meant well, but what good did it do? As it turned out they didn't save any lives and lost their own trying. They failed.
That led me on to thinking about all those people who jumped out of high windows. All those future achievements they had thought lay within their grasp - varying from promotion to CEO of the company to being home in time for a child's birthday party - never came to anything, did they? Their field of free action narrowed down to taking the hand of a colleague, or a stranger, before death. If sucess is achieving your goals, face it, that's failure.
There were those who didn't even achieve that much. People who found themselves alone when the floor collapsed or the air ran out. What can words like "bravery" or "dying well" mean in such circumstances? Even supposing their last thoughts were any more sophisticated than mere animal horror, there was no one there to be edified.
Compare that to the success of their killers. Happy is the death of the shaheed, triumphant in the knowledge that his goals are now certain to be achieved! Furthermore their actions brought pleasure and inspiration to many.
There you have it. Failure and success, clear and indisputable. Unless you decide that for some reason it is better to judge by other criteria.
posted by Natalie at 1:00 PM
