Scanning the Internet, for the most part, provides a much-needed source of entertainment and release from the strictures of this world. But every now and then my aimless pursuit of random facts uncovers a story or two that just doesn’t sit well with me. Today is such a day. The Associated Press released a report detailing the method behind obituary writing and how news organizations are able to release the details on a public figure just moments after their untimely demise – most of those obituaries were pre-written. There’s no need to reread that last line, as I did when I first stumbled across that detail. The AP has even gone so far as to write an obituary for 26-year -old fallen pop star Britney Spears, just in case her continued downward spiral leads to an early grave.
But is this right? That’s the million-dollar question. So I began to wonder how I would feel if I knew that someone had already prepared my obituary and was simply waiting for me to die, just so they could be first to release it to the public. The mere thought of it is unsettling. So what can we do? Well, many more of us can do precisely what I’m doing now. We can invoke the power of the pen, and write to the editors of these major publications, call for an immediate cease and desist of these practices. You always hear people saying that we need to respect the dead, well I think we should unite to implore people to respect the living as well. Such a practice is insensitive, morally wrong, and should end immediately. – the black sheep
