A story published 22/11/2023, in Portuguese newspaper Público drew attention to the number of deaths caused by the 2022 heatwave in Europe. I translate the headline to you: “Heat may have caused 700 excess deaths in Europe in 2022”
The news item referred to a study published in the Lancet magazine, pointing out that the 2022 heatwave was responsible for 70000 excess deaths in Europe.
I'm essentially a questioner, so I have to confess that I wondered about this question:
What, then, is an acceptable, balanced and expected number of deaths?
It's a disturbing question, because to answer it we need to talk about the issues surrounding death.
I think that the only entity that likes and considers itself an expert and that likes to be talked about is Death itself, being the exclusive holder of the knowledge necessary to decide who dies, by what method and at what time.
Death, apart from other whims, also likes surprises. That's why people say that ‘you never know when it's coming’. Sometimes it likes to play tricks that humans call “death scares”.
In its speciality, Death is unbeatable and loves the exclusivity of its function. For example, no human will ever be able to kill Death itself, as not even the acclaimed Gods were able to do so.
Nowadays, Death is the protagonist of the main news broadcasts in the media, and is so trivial that it seems as if we know it intimately.
On a daily basis, we watch live the display of its many methods, its many faces and victims, its most damaging consequences, which are no longer limited to the loss of human life or the mourning processes of those who resist or have managed to avoid death. There is also talk of the economic, social or psychological consequences, the short, medium or long-term effects, and apparently the small, certain or excessive number of deaths. As if Death were merely a loss.
For me, all the consequences of death are harmful, including its trivialisation, which means that we have to live with it up close, seeing it enter our homes en masse through the media, on social networks or in conversations over coffee.
For example, I've noticed that death experts have been on the rise, especially a type that claims to have a solution to the deaths caused by wars, which usually involves causing even more deaths, but only among one side of the conflict (the one they don't agree with). As though there were valid deaths and invalid ones.
We need to return to the place where Death deserved respect and dignity. I say this because history has taught us that the trivialisation of destruction and death generates even more death. Death loves popularity.
Since accounting also takes a stab at death, it seems that 70000 is too many.
I don't know what the right number is, but I've always thought that just 1 was too many.
I´ve been talking about Death on my Daily notes to Self, like this ones:
I've written other posts related to the theme of death, such as these fictional stories:
Thank you Rolando. I agree that "excessive deaths" implies that there are too many or too little. How are we to know? We only know what is "average" in any year, and does that have any meaning? We should all have more conversations about death with our loved ones.
Thanks for this interesting perspective Rolando, I agree. It's interesting how death is discussed in our culture and the lack of talking about anything meaningful around it (I know you have talked about this in prior newsletters).