In her “Turning Points” column in the Feb. 19 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Clare Ansberry attempted to answer the question of why Americans are “getting worse at grieving.”

For many residents of Blair County, it is a topic that seems beyond settling on a widely verifiable conclusion.

However, the points made by Ansberry in her column provide generous food for thought and, beyond that, food for discussion and lively debate.

On that issue, “picking each other’s brains” has the potential to foster interesting outcomes, but it need not sour relationships, if the exercise is conducted carefully and with compassion regarding others’ feelings.

It used to be that Americans, including people here, could be counted on to be very sorrowful and expressive about others’ setbacks and painful challenges.

However, while sorrow and concern still might come into play for people contemplating others’ setbacks, challenges or loss, people here, like people in most other places, are just too busy to remain “glued” to those issues and sufferings for very long.

It might seem cruel, but it is a fact of life in America 2025, including here, and it doesn’t seem destined to change — at least not anytime soon.

For example, even the crimes of sexual abuse of children, showing up increasingly often in the Mirror’s news reports, exact nary the degree of openly vocal public outrage that might have been expressed and witnessed, say, 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

People here should ponder some of the opinions and reasoning expressed in Ansberry’s column, for example, what David Kessler, author and founder of Grief.com, had to say.

“We are exhausted and barely have time as a nation to grieve one tragedy when we are hit by another,” Kessler said.

Kessler, who for decades has been helping individuals, organizations and communities deal with grief, told Ansberry that he doesn’t recall ever before seeing such a steady stream of catastrophic losses affecting so many people in such a short period as he has observed since the start of 2025.

He was referring to 14 deaths in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, the devastating wildfires in Southern California, the collision of a passenger jet and military helicopter in Washington, D.C., that claimed 67 lives, and the plane crashes in Philadelphia and Alaska that claimed a total of 17 lives.

Meanwhile, this country’s political climate is doing little to calm people’s nerves.

Ansberry asks: “Should people grieve those they don’t know, or things they didn’t lose? People in Ohio and Iowa (and Altoona) who don’t have connections to Los Angeles or airlines or the military, do they have a duty or moral obligation to support those who grieve? And if so, how?”

Joanne Cacciatore, a research professor at Arizona State University, is quoted by Ansberry as saying “it’s our duty to care.”

She went on to say “we model behavior for our family and children.

When they see that compassion in action, they can embody that themselves.”

Meanwhile, Claire Bidwell Smith, an author and grief therapist, offered explanations that “we are living in a day and age when everyone is talking about longevity and how to optimize it” and “we’ve become more averse to death and anything associated with it.”

Ansberry says Americans are getting worse at grieving, but people here might argue that Altoona and Blair County are above average on the right side of the issue.

Some lively debate might be in order.

— Altoona Mirror