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Speaker for the Dead

Date Posted: 05.06.08

Orson Scott Card wrote the Ender Saga. In the books he writes about a quasi-religious cult that arose around a figure called "The Speaker for the Dead." The idea of the Speaker was that he "spoke" the truth about the life and times of a person who passed away. He told the good, the bad, and the ugly with straightforward candor. I have always found the idea extremely appealing and cathartic.

When my grandmother died I was mildly appalled by the near-sainthood she received. She was wonderful but she was also a lot more than that. It was the "more" that made her real, that made her -her-. I loved her, not a falsely-deified version. I wanted to scream to the world that she was real but no one wanted to hear it.

My brother died last week. I wonder if I can speak for him now.

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