It seems we're surrounded by tragedies. A shooting rampage by a crazed sociopath is summarized as a tragedy. A starlet's death by overdose is called a "tragic" end of a life, not a slow-motion suicide. Who can say how many times the September 11 attacks were called a tragedy, rather than a diabolic act of mass murder? I offended some readers after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, because I wrote that — as devastating and pitiable as that event was — it was not a tragedy.

Having been an English major, I cling to the idea that "tragedy" has a specific meaning: when people fail to properly prepare for disaster, or fail to respond adequately to disaster, that is a calamity, a failure, a liability, not a tragedy. The months of recriminations that followed the hurricane just confirmed in me this view.

Being fortunate, and deferential, I would never argue this point to anyone who's closer to that situation. Everyone must apprehend their own circumstances first, tragic or otherwise, and overcome them if possible. The rest of us must be considerate and generous in turn, but we must be careful not to misunderstand the misfortunes of others — or to adopt them as our own difficulties.

I raise this now because the collapse of the Interstate 35 bridge reminds me of what a real tragedy is: an unanticipated disaster inflicted on people who were powerless to prevent their own demise. Such events are rare in the United States because, for the most part, we are smart, resourceful, and free enough to comport ourselves so that we can avoid most tragedies. I expect lawsuits will be filed charging negligence in Minnesota, and perhaps properly so. But, if something truly is a tragedy it's hard to see how it was also a criminal or political liability.

Greek and Medieval dramatists used tragedy to remind their audiences of their mortality - and to encourage a proper sort of humility. That's probably enough of a lesson or commentary for most of us to take from such recent events: Be wise, be careful, but be mindful that all life is a gift. And, in the course of that realization, we might learn to separate a "tragedy" from the silly and profane dramas that commonly earn that label.