In the wake of tragedies, there’s always a rush to say something.

To make it personal.

To find a way to insert ourselves into the moment, even if—truthfully—it has nothing to do with us.

Take the recent crash of American Airlines flight 5342. A tragedy that claimed the lives of 60+ people. And yet, scrolling social media, I’ve seen post after post from people talking about how they just left DCA, were about to fly there, had once been on that route, and how grateful they are that they weren’t on that flight.