Farewell To The Crocodile Hunter
Animal lovers lost one of, if not, the most recognized, entertaining and animated advocates for animal education/conservation. I am of course referring to Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter.
While filming another one of his informative and entertaining specials in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, he was stung by a Stingray, in or near his heart and although these stings have only been fatal in reports about 3 times in history in Australia, this was one of those cases due to the location.
As a Libertarian, I do not believe in hero worship, it is for sheep who lack self esteem and confidence in their own ability to face challenges. I do however admire and respect those individuals, who exhibit the knowledge, experience, savvy and physical or mental attributes to place them so far ahead of their peers that they redefine their area of expertise. Whether Bill Gates in business, Bruce Lee in martial arts, Mohammed Ali in boxing, or Steve Irwin in animal education/conservation, all have redefined everything that preceded them, setting a new standard that all future endeavors in those fields will be compared to. Added to their own individual accomplishments in their chosen fields, they inspired many more to work that much harder, to aspire to be as good as they were, to try harder, to not give up as they know it is now possible, because someone has shown them it can be done. Steve reaffirmed the power of the individual, by proving that one person can be a force for positive change, that one person with skill, tenacity and passion can make a difference in an entire world full of people.
I sat for hours yesterday watching clips from previous Steve Irvin episodes on Animal Planet. The contrast between Steve and his peers was staggering, so much more entertaining, humorous moments combined with serious content and strong messages to respect those below us on the evolutionary scale. My youngest daughter was in tears over the loss of her daily favorite TV personality. It was truly heartbreaking to see how much this man was loved by people who never came into contact with him. A legacy of love admiration and respect from millions on the other side of the planet was truly awe-inspiring.
Steve was genuine, sincere and honest about who he was and what he was about. It was so refreshing after a daily force-fed diet of the so called entertainment industry, the too common Hollywood drug abuse/rape allegations/criminal allegations stories are overshadowed by professional sports drug abuse/rape allegations/ criminal charges, both of which are tame when compared to the RAP thug-culture seemingly endless drug abuse/rape advocating/ criminal charges. I feel sorry for any child watching television today; it is like a giant toilet flushing with the filth, depravity and other crap commonly referred to as entertainment. The last time a society had this much time and wealth to dedicate to self-gratification at the cost of their children it was near the end of the Roman Empire, and we all know how that worked out.
I for one will not only miss The Crocodile Hunter myself, but I will have a hard time as a father finding something that wholesome, educational and entertaining for my young children to watch.
As for Steve himself, he lived exactly how he chose to live, taking what seemed to the rest of us life-threatening risks every day, to get our attention, to help share his vision and views with the rest of us, thought entertaining and very animated video specials. He was often living on the cutting edge of animal education/conservation/entertainment and lived more each week than most of us will live in a lifetime. It is a fact we will all die, but Steve died doing something he not only believed in, was consumed with and passionate about, but something he himself loved.
Steve we will miss you, you were the absolute best at what you did and we all thank you for hundreds of hours of quality education/conservation and family entertainment.
To his grieving family we offer our condolences and thank them for permitting him to share his life with us, as we have shared in their joy and happy experiences brought to us in videos, we now too share in their grief at the loss of an exuberant, passionate and dedicated individual with a contagious attitude and love for the animal world.
For the education, perspective, entertainment and sheer joy, you brought us over many years.Thank you Steve.