Searching for the Titanic

This will be brief, and a hell of a way to start off a blog! I have more in drafts just waiting to be completed. Welcome to the chaos of my brain!

Anyway, it’s all over the news that there’s a submersible missing in the depths of the ocean. It went missing an hour and forty five minutes into what should have been a 2 hour trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic. That was 4 days ago with oxygen running out on that 4th day. I’d love to rant and yell about how irresponsible this was. How it’s a tragedy that people’s wealth was abused as they trusted that this trip would be memory-making, not life-ending. How arrogant it was thinking that they could safety do this without the vessel meeting safety regulations. But I’ll stop myself and save it for my group chats with friends.

This whole scenario does bring up the question as to why we do things that could potentially put us in harm’s way. We ride rollercoasters, drive our cars too fast, sky dive, parasail, etc. The list goes on. You hear the argument that there’s always a risk no matter what you do. Which is true, but some situations certainly carry a much bigger consequence than others. Our logical brains know that. And we understand the risk. But we do it anyway. Why? Why do we understand potential outcomes but still engage in something. Is our need for adrenaline really that great? For some, is the need to be “different” really stronger than what makes sense? The need to have more unique experiences than anyone else? The need to boast wealth? The need to be a pioneer? When does the want end, and the need for self preservation begin. Unfortunately it might have been as the oxygen ticked away for those aboard this trek to the Titanic.

Before embarking on the OceanGate submersible, the passengers were aware of the potential risks. They still paid $250k a seat. Was it trust? Was it passion? Was it being manipulated into believing that though these dangers could happen, they were unlikely to so it’d be fine.

We live in a world where so many things are possible, that nothing ever seems IMPOSSIBLE. Technology has brought us to places we could have only dreamed of just a few years ago. We forget, however, that we have limitations. Not only does our technology have a stopping point, we also do as humans. Unfortunately, it seems like this missing vessel is a case of flying too close to the sun. Or in this case, swimming too deep into darkness.

I have nothing to do with this story. I have no CB connections to these people. I have limited knowledge that I only gained in the past 4 days about submarines. But for some reason, I’m angry. I’m angry that these people pushed the limits so far and we’re willing to die for a chance that maybe we shouldn’t have. If it was so easy and simple to go see the remains of the Titanic, someone would have taken advantage of that and there would be a daily trip down by now. But it’s not that easy. It’s not that simple. I guess that’s why it came it’s such a price tag. It also comes with a cost. People are gone now. Families are torn apart. Potential for more development from some of the exploring minds on the OceanGate no longer exists. And for what? Lives have been taken after some false sense of adventure. It was never adventure. It was narcissism. That we, humans, could trick the ocean into being hospitable. That we could trick a destructive force since the dawn of time into letting us prod around the depth of it and get away unscathed. Hopefully, we can recover the wreckage of the submersible. Hopefully, we can give some idea of closure. Maybe this can be one of those catalysts to have tighter regulations. Maybe some good can come from this. But at the end, I’m still angry at the entitlement. I’m angry at the example that wealth has thrown into the world. This idea that money can buy you invincibility.

It seems like this did become a rant after all. And maybe that’s the missing piece. We forget to tell people what emotions we’d feel if they weren’t here anymore. The grief. The fear. The anxiety. The anger. Maybe if we took more time to have that kind of gratitude, we could escape the drive for that hormone that should allow us to make quick decisions. That adrenaline that we need to flood our brains with. Maybe if we showed more value for what we have in life, we’d be less willing to die for the chase of something more.