“You know it’s funny how the good die first.” Busta Rhymes
The idea that “the good die first” has been with us for a long time. Most likely it has lingered in our collective consciousness, permeating through various cultures and ages since humans began to witness death, and began to wonder at the indiscriminate nature of mortality.
Today, I caught the above words “You know it’s funny how the good die first,” as Rhymes spit his verse on the song, “Why We Die,” which I later learned was from his 2000 album, Anarchy.
One example of the pervasive nature of the belief that goodness is often met with untimely demise can be seen in the proverb:
“The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”
The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is attributed with this saying, which seems to reinforce the notion, that a shortened lifespan accompanies exceptional brilliance.
“They say the good die young, in the hood where I’m from.” -Jay Z
The sentiment has been expressed in numerous other forms, across different civilizations and belief systems, however, I still see behind it some ambiguity: what does it really mean for “the good” to depart prematurely? And why does this idea persist?
Why do the good among us depart prematurely?
In ancient Greek mythology, as with the Bible, it seems the reason is to save the good themselves!
“Whom the gods love, die young” reflects the belief in Greek mythology that those favored by the gods would die young to preserve their beauty and innocence. For the Bible also, the reason the good are taken away prematurely is, not as a punishment, but to spare them from the evil and suffering to come (Isiah 57:1).
Some things are, however, clear concerning the premature departure of the virtuous:
- It makes us appreciate what we regard as good qualities all the more. When those who embody goodness, righteousness, moral integrity, etc., depart they leave behind a void that echoes their noble deeds. We are thus left lamenting the transient nature of life’s most cherished qualities.
- We are also left pondering over mortality and the fickleness of fate (not to mention the unstoppable march of time). Seeing that even the good perishing prematurely we are forced to address our minds to the indiscriminate nature of death, for we see even the noblest of souls are not protected from its early visits.
“Seeing that even the good perishing prematurely we are forced to address our minds to the indiscriminate nature of death…”
Finally, my theory
There is, however, another angle from which we can view this pervasive belief in the premature departure of the good among us. And this is from the lenses of our own subjective perception, as it is shaped by the impact of their early departure.
The passing of people whom we regard as good tends to resonate more deeply within our collective psyche and inflicts upon us a deep sense of grief and loss. As such, these instances leave a more indelible mark on our consciousness, leading us to ascribe a higher frequency to their occurrence.
What this theory is suggesting is, that perhaps our perception of the frequency of their departure is not actually by any verifiable statistical prevalence but by our heightened emotional responses to their passing. Simply put, the strong emotional impact of losing good people skews our perception and causes us to attribute a higher frequency to their deaths than may actually be the case.
Wild speculation?
Not if we agree the deaths of people we see as virtuous individuals are more emotionally impactful, leading us to recall them more readily and therefore perceive them as more common than they might objectively be.
Again, if we already believe that “the good die first,” as has been preached to us all this time, then our confirmation bias can very well kick in and make us more inclined to notice and remember instances that support the belief thereby reinforcing the belief.
“Simply put, the strong emotional impact of losing good people skews our perception and causes us to attribute a higher frequency to their deaths than may actually be the case.”
The men of science can, of course, take a look at it in light of empirical data and established psychological principles to see if it offers a plausible explanation for the phenomenon of perceiving a higher frequency of good people’s premature deaths, or not.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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