Perspective.

A young African-American male, in the prime of his life and career, dies. Everyone talks about what a good person he was. Tears are shed.

No, I'm not talking about Chris Henry, troubled wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, who died this week while involved in a dispute with his fiance. I'm not talking about a young man with a history of clashes with the law, who was seemingly turning his life around. I'm not talking about a man who will be honored for the rest of the season by his teammates with his number on their helmets. That man will be honored by the media, sportscasters and newspaper writers. They will talk about what a good father he was and what a tragedy it is that his children lost their father days before Christmas.

Yes, it is a tragedy. But what I'm talking about is any number of young soldiers who die in war. The number currently stands at 4,373 in Iraq and 857 in Afghanistan. Take those numbers and multiply them by 2-8 (or more) for the number of people directly affected by their deaths.

Yet those deaths will receive less coverage than the death of one NFL star. This makes me sad.

On a somewhat related note of things that make me sad (actually, appalled is a better word), I still can't believe I read the article correctly about the Republicans trying to filibuster a defense spending bill to hold up the health care debate. A defense spending bill. Money for armored vehicles that protect against IEDs, money for salaries of soldiers, sailors and marines in harm's way. Hmmmmm, seems they might need some health care to reattach the nose they just cut off to spite their face. To quote my oldest brother, "A pox on both their houses."

OK, Christmas is just around the corner, I'll be more upbeat next time.