PrintA TITANIC LESSON
by Mike Robinson
The movie, "Titanic" sure won a swag of Oscars at the Academy Awards. All the hype surrounding the movie caused my warped mind to recall a story I heard some years ago.
Two men were stranded on an iceberg. Suddenly one sighted an approaching ship. He jumped to his feet and shouted hysterically, "Look! We're saved! It's the Titanic!"
The possible humour of that imaginary situation falls flat when we recall the tragedy that happened on that fateful night of April 14th, 1912. The "Titanic" was called the unsinkable. But all she ever did was sink! On her maiden voyage from England to the U.S.A. she struck an iceberg and went down with the loss of 1513 lives.
When the "Titanic" sailed, she carried a great cross-section of people from all social levels of life - a world in microcosm - from millionaires to poor emigrants. The passengers and crew represented an amazing array of class distinctions and social discrimination. Just like our world, eh?
During the days immediately following the disaster, the names of all those who had sailed on the ship were posted on the bulletin board in the offices of the Cunard Shipping Line. However, now there were only two classes of people - those who were saved and those who were lost. The tragedy that shocked the world destroyed every man-made distinction and classification of people. When the end came, there were only those who were saved and those who were lost.
Some things in our world look as if they will last forever. Just like the "Titanic". The two imaginary men mentioned earlier took great comfort in being rescued by a ship...that was about to sink!
Do you sometimes get the uneasy feeling that our world is on a collision course with some great cosmic 'iceberg' that will tear the guts out of your hopes and leave you among the lost?
It's a sobering but necessary thought that we should all ask ourselves; "In whom or what have I put my trust, invested my life and secured my whole future - both here and hereafter
