Pondering meaning of life, death

Editor:

In response to two recent letters:

So what's the meaning of life ("What is the meaning of life?" March 27) Is it money, children, influence or spiritual well-being? The meaning of life is simply to live. Delving deeper is to open a Pandora's box of spiraling questions leading to the realization that you are a minuscule part of billions of people among an infinite variety of life on an incomprehensible time continuum. The question is paradoxical since there is no answer. Perhaps this is the power of human religions. Give the question over to a higher being, God. If you can't find peace there then just chill out, continue life, be happy and try not to cause harm along the way.

Erich Karkoschka's letter on March 29 ("Death demeaned by UA") stated "we" don't care that one of "us" is murdered and we should wake up and do something. Quoting further, "Other societies send a signal to everybody that killing a professor is completely unacceptable and that the murderer has no future in our society." This is a serious crime but I'd hardly say we support murderers as you inferred. What do you want? Do you want us to close the university for a day, lynch the suspected murderer, build a memorial, name a building after him or have a rally to protest his death? Is this an effective means of stopping murders? Are university murders that much more important than the more common South Tucsonan murders? Do you believe that the murderer would have thought twice about his actions if all the students had held a rally protesting murder the day before? Help someone gets a job, get someone to realize they're addicted to drugs or alcohol, improve education or help the police if you want to protest. It isn't glamorous and doesn't provide immediate results but it is more effective.

Alan E. Jessen

Graduate College

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