Berlin, May 19, 2020
In Greek mythology, Thanatos is the god of death. I know that not just because I studied philosophy, or because such knowledge is very much appreciated in the German middle class, but also because every evening I read my daughter from Iliad, the adapted-for-kids version of course.
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Almost all of the stories in that work deals with the fear of death. It's nice to see how people in that era could still deal with this matter openly and freely. In our day and age, death is no longer part of daily life. It exists, at least in Europe, only in television. We watch others as they tremble in fear and then finally die.
But for the past 20 years now there has been a dramatic drop in homicides in Germany. During this period, the number has dropped in half. Two hundred and forty-five people were killed in Germany in 2019. In a population of 80 million that is really a drop in the bucket.
But beyond that, we have done several other things to avoid death, to best it out, and chiefly among them: We have managed to delay it. Our forefathers considered the age of 40 to be the end of life. Or as they say in Italy, finito bandito.
But now we can live twice that number of years in this crystal ball of ours. It is just insane. Over the past several months we have seen what happens when death, that distant rumor, can no longer be relegated to the small screen but actually becomes part of everyday life. Of course it has never gone anywhere, it has always lived among us, every day, but it has just been a thing most people have not noticed it, and have not put much thought to, because it is not that popular. So millions of people now have to cling to this anxiety from something that has never really disappeared.
According to official figures, some 8,000 people here have died due to the pandemic. The average age of fatalities stands at 81. The so-called killer virus, which should have resulted in mass casualties, turns out to be just another virus. There are some 100 million viruses around the world. There are 100 million circular, organic, and sweet objects that we are condemned to coexist with on earth, which have the ability to impact our lives, and death. Every day, and every place.
When I stroll through the streets of Berlin, I can still see people who have put on extra layers even though it's boiling hot. They walk with a hat, a mask, goggles, gloves, a scarf and other things to cover them from head to toe. They walk around, feeling lost.
I would gladly invite them to my reading nights, in which I try to instill a notion of directness and nature to death to my daughter thought the Iliad. I mean, it works. Combining death as part of life, your own life, not as an enemy, but more as an annoying family member.
The fear of death still gets projected on the other, on society, or on something else. Death is projected on things that are foreign to us, that are not part of us. The virus, the refugees, whatnot. Death is found in a place that is different than mine, not where I am, this is a classic conceptual thought that is designed to help people survive more easily and navigate their daily life. But it is totally divorced from reality.
