7/08/2007
The right to die
Visited a nursing home or a hospice? I assure you that it is not a pretty sight. My respect for all the care givers in the homes, paid or volunteered. Many of the inmates are no longer able to look after themselves. Can't see, can't hear, can't move, can't talk and can't think. And everything must be done for them.
Is it a good thing to keep them living in those conditions? Are they living and enjoying life, or are they serving penance for a life not worth living?
Many kind hearted souls will swear and fight tooth and nail to keep them alive and going. Life is precious. Anyone with a different view?
We are not meant to live forever in this physical form. We come and we go. Different religions and races have their theories and teachings on what come next. Some may believe that this is their one and only existence. Some believe that there is life after death. Some believe that one's spirit lives on forever.
The question is whether people should be preserved to live with such indignity, in such a pathetic condition, and celebrated as living. Living life must be living life, not suffering life, immobilised in bed.
A lot of education needs to be done to prepare people to live and die gracefully and respectfully. People must not be imprisoned in their dysfunctional bodies in this world one day longer that they have to be. They must be set free to roam the universe, to carry on living as a free spirit.
We have the right to live and also the right to die, in dignity. A lot of work must be done in this neglected area that has been left to chance and the opportunitists. We need some of our best talents to be trained in this field and to enlighten the ignorant masses on what life and living is all about and remove the fear of dying.
Dying is the last act of grace. A beautiful moment to a new life. Dying is to live again.
PS. Exclude the violent and unnatural deaths for they are not meant to die through natural wear and tear.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
There are alot of people who believe that the choice of living or dying is/shud not be decided by us. That euthanasia and genetic cloning are wrong.
> The question is whether people should be preserved to live with such indignity, in such a pathetic condition, and celebrated as living. <
As long as age-old beliefs and mysticism prevail, the general consensus is that individuals do NOT own their own person, and their own bodies.
In that respect, the right to terminate one's life (suicide, euthanasia etc) will always have a "sinful" label attached to it. Then people who are terminally ill will have to endure (needless) suffering and experience their bodies physically failing— organs shutting down, uncontrollable "leakage" of vile smelling bodily fluids, noticeable deterioration of one's spirit, mood and general outlook.
I'm not going to wait for that— to have my fate determined by stupid "laws" and "societal norms"—fuck that shit... as far as I am concerned—the moment I have decided for myself that I've "had enough" and no longer want to endure a terminal condition, I will blow my own brains out (where I live, personal ownership of firearms is legal).
I own ME. No one else has any claim on my person or on its existence.
there is a thin line between euthanasia, suicide and to let nature take its own course. up to a certain age when the organs are failing through ageing or a terminal disease, there will be a moment to ponder how much more medical assistance should be used to prevent death.
my mother died peacefully at the age of 92. she was hard of hearing or seeing. she did not want any more ops on her though the doctor recommended, at that age!
i told the doctor to make her comfortable and no pain. she slept and left after a couple of weeks in hospital.
she might or might not live a few days more if she were to go under the knife again.
what was needed is a sensible decision rather than an emotional one.
Post a Comment