On Monday, local police identified a man found dead Saturday at the Durango Dog Park as 59-year-old Brian Ackleson. The cause of death has yet to be determined, but foul play is not thought to be involved.
Our condolences, of course, to friends or family who may be grieving. Whatever his situation, he died too young.
Taken in the context of current events, however, it was a sad but nonetheless healthy reminder of reality. Our still unfolding national psychodrama notwithstanding, we are not actors in somebody else’s play. We do not live at 30,000 feet or on national television. Life plays out at ground level, one breath at a time.
Deadlines being what they are, at this writing there are no election results to rejoice over or bemoan. In any case, Ackleson’s death is not a stand-in for some politician or political stance. Whatever his story, he was a human being, not a metaphor.
The police said Ackleson was living a transient lifestyle in Durango. Whether that was meant as a more respectful way to say homeless or as a euphemism for something darker is impossible to say. He was not known to the Herald. Anyway, what does it matter? It is not our place to judge him.
It is not judgmental, however, to say that one man’s death – local, individual, seemingly impersonal – nonetheless has a broader meaning. In its singularity it adds perspective to the spectacle that has unfolded across the nation in recent months and reminds us of our own humanity, however flawed we are or he may have been. Whatever his condition or station in life, at least in its finality, we all share his fate. And even without knowing him, it is safe to say that in all likelihood most of us had more in common with him than with many of those who have been occupying our televisions.
Elections matter and clearly warrant attention. No one who values our republic could argue otherwise. But individuals matter, too. This one seemingly random death is a reminder of that – and that lives are not lived on stage.
