Accidents don’t just happen. But I was a willing victim.
Approx 905 words
The Trouble with Accidents
©2004 by W. E. Lopez
Accidents don’t just happen, sometimes they require
months, years, or even decades, of patient and detailed planning. Other times they happen in a careless moment
lasting no more than the blink of an eye.
Accidents can happen to the blissfully ignorant, the woefully
unprepared, or the incredibly stupid, but I was a willing victim.
The prosecutor continued to strut and swagger before
the court, as he had for the past six days while presenting his case. With the dramatic flair of an accomplished
actor, he frequently pointed his accusing finger at my brother and me, or shook
his fist to the jury to emphasize a point he wished to make concerning our
negligence or culpability.
After six days, even I had begun to doubt the wisdom
of our actions and considered throwing myself upon the mercy of the court. Were my brother and I responsible for the
death of hundreds, even thousands of unsuspecting victims, as the prosecutor
had so loudly accused? No one could deny
thousands had died, but was it our fault?
Accidents do happen, don’t they?
If I build a bridge or a tall building and people leap to their death,
am I accountable? If I sell a car and a
man drives in a reckless manner, killing himself and his family, is it my
fault?
Finally, the prosecution rested its case. Had he presented all the facts as he knew
them to be, or had he simply run out of words?
Our defense attorney, one of the best in the land, stood and offered his
rebuttal, taking no longer than your representative before deciding to vote in
favor of another congressional pay raise.
Of course, people had died. Accidents can and will happen, but the
responsibility lay not with my brother and I.
All we could be held accountable for was the banishment of ignorance and
the abolition of superstition. We did
not encourage others to behave with reckless abandon. Any undertaking involves an element of risk,
and the higher the goal, the greater the risk.
Our eloquent advocate took his seat, pleased with his brevity, lest the
jury become impatient with a long and drawn out pleading.
The magistrate instructed the jury to consider only
matters of fact, presented in sworn testimony before the court, and bade them
retire to the jury room for deliberation.
Perhaps you have never sat in fear of decisions to be
made by others yet have a profound effect upon the remainder of your life. I can assure you there is no more lonely time
in your life, no matter which side of the court you sit upon.
The jury returned in scarcely more than two hours and
my brother and I were again summoned to the court to take our seats. We could hardly believe the bailiff as he
read the words, “Guilty to all charges of the indictment!”
The magistrate ordered the defendants to stand while
he pronounced sentence, and our attorney stood with us.
“The jury has found you both guilty for actions
leading to the death or injury and disability of thousands of innocent persons. The legislature has a duty to preserve the
public welfare and enact legislation for the protection and benefit of all. It is their unhappy task to insure not only
one man not harm another, but that he not be allowed to harm himself.
“This court, on the other hand, may only consider whether
you have violated such legislation by actions leading to the injury and anguish
of others. You brothers seem to be
unaware of the maxim, ‘A little knowledge
can be a dangerous thing.’ Having
been found guilty by a jury of your peers, it is my solemn duty to impose
punishment upon you in the interest of public safety and for the betterment of
all.
“Therefore, it is my decision and order, both of you
shall be removed from society for the remainder of your natural lives. You shall be sent to the furthest prison within
my jurisdiction, there to remain in solitary confinement until you are dead and
no man shall seek your counsel again!”
He punctuated his sentence with a single crash of the gavel upon the
polished oak over which he presided. “Bailiff! Remove the
prisoners, Knowledge and
For the second time that day, the bailiff shackled
our wrists and we were led out the side door of the courtroom, down the dimly
lighted hall, and loaded into the police van.
In short order we would be driven back to the county jail while the
necessary paperwork was prepared in triplicate, signed, time-stamped and filed,
and then we would be transferred to the prison.
Behavioral scientists say, in a society of brown
baboons, a white baboon will be attacked by the browns and killed. Man has the same instincts, if not the same
evolution. My brother and I had tried
only to spread truth and knowledge so others could recognize personal liberty
and enjoy freedom of choice. No matter
what legal charges we had been convicted of, we were guilty of the unpardonable
sin of refusing to live within the comfortable pigeon-hole the authorities had
decreed for the common man. We were
white baboons and must not be allowed to rock the boat.
In the end, our common epitaph would read, “Here lie
Truth and Freedom; they were too dangerous for the enjoyment of all.”