Gloating over Scalia

Justice Antonin Scalia is dead.  I missed the news.  It apparently happened a few days ago.  I am sometimes isolated from current issues when I have some thinking to do--no TV, no newspaper, not internet news feed for the duration.  So I don't know the circumstances, just that it was sudden and unexpected (to most people?).*  I found out about his death by reading a political blog that I often visit--although not in the past several days.  At this point, news posts are dealing with the political circus that has erupted over Scalia's replacement on the Supreme Court of the United States.  The comments discuss the Republican strategy, the Democrat strategy, the quality of the headline of whatever article is being discussed (a constant debate).

Some commenters, however, note that they took the news of Justice Scalia's death as an opportunity to celebrate.  Then followed some snarky remarks about houses falling on Scalia, as if he were a "wicked witch."  And so on.

I can't say that I thought of Justice Scalia with any admiration while he was alive, nor do I think his legacy will make our nation a better one.   Indeed, I was quite convinced that his every action on the Supreme Court was to weaken the nation, ignore the constitution, and generally destroy the fabric of civil society.  I had read, however, that he was nice enough in person, had a good sense of humor.  I forced myself to listen to him speak a couple of times and was pretty much surprised that he made some sense.

I don't believe that his "spirit" lives on.  His conscious awareness of self--his soul, if you will--died when he drew his last breath and the electrical connections in his brain stopped.  I am not afraid that his ghost will haunt me if I "speak ill of the dead."  Why then am I bothered by the celebration and snark that others have evinced?  Am I exhibiting some sort of false piety when I think that there should be at least a moment when we acknowledge that a human life--any human life--has ended?

Death is a big deal.  It's the end of a life.  Whatever a person did in life is over. His/her works may continue after death, but there will never be anything new from him/her, never be any explanation for the past, never be any chance to change or make amends or make peace.  It's just over.  Done.  Finished.  Do we not need to pause in our own busy lives to take into account this change that has happened--this new void in our world?  Do we not owe it to ourselves to preserve our own humanity by acknowledging the immensity of death, the significance of a human life and death?  Even some animals grieve for the loss another.

When we call each other pejorative names, we objectify and generally discount each other's human worth.  When we gloat at the death of an enemy/opponent/other, we deny both their humanity and our own.  To take pleasure in death, frankly, makes us one with any common killer.

Yes, there's a vacancy on the US Supreme Court.  I can see that as a good thing for some progressive and humanist issues, since the vacancy was held by an extremely conservative justice.  Yes, there will be a scramble to fill the vacancy, and we can all pop some corn to enjoy the show.  We may even decide that our vote in the coming primary will make a difference in how the show ends and get involved in it in our own small way.  Life and politics go on.  Let them go on with some recognition of our common humanity, our common mortality, our common need to--somehow--live together.

*Just hoping his family had some time to prepare.  Sudden death of a loved one can be quite traumatic.