What is it about the death of one person that can spur a national fixation that brings people from all walks of life into the same emotional cradle, rocking back and forth to soothe their anguish over the loss of an individual none of them knew personally?

This ritual of mass public mourning plays itself out across national, cultural, ethnic and religious divides. It happened after Princess Diana was so tragically killed in an automobile accident. It happened after King Hussein lost his battle with cancer. And currently, it is taking place in response to the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife and his sister-in-law.

While these responses are indeed sincere and heartfelt, one must question the element of the human condition that allows such displays to take place. If someone can feel true pain and loss over the death of king who, by many standards, sold-out to western interests, leaving his people poor, weak and without leverage in their own region of the world, then why can't those same people show that outpouring of emotion for the thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians who are facing starvation at this very moment?

If throngs can flock to lay wreaths for a Princess who, despite her considerable charitable efforts, was most popular because of her marital attachment to an antiquated form of governance, then why can't those throngs lend the same emotion to awareness over the seasonal cyclonic catastrophes that hit Bangladesh?

In the case of JFK, Jr., his life was snuffed out with so much unrealized potential yet to be shared with the world. But what about the unrealized potential of Iraqi children who will be forever mentally impaired because of sanction-induced malnutrition and disease propagation?

Now of course, all this is not meant to belittle, in any way, the tragedy of the aforementioned deaths. Especially in the case of JFK, Jr., the irony of his passing is almost too much to bear. Deepest sympathies and condolences must be extended to the Kennedy family, which has endured familial loss on a scale one would not wish on any human being.

However it is important to keep human suffering and death in perspective. And while it is easy to shed tears for public figures who are familiar to the eye, it is no less important to remember the plight of our human brethren in Colombia ... Kashmir ... Palestine ... the Democratic Republic of Congo ... Sierra Leone ... South Africa ... Turkey ... Haiti ... the Philippines ... Mexico ...