Twenty years ago I wrote an essay about depression, which, as you know, is responsible for a great many suicides. Near the end I offered a very practical policy solution for reducing depression-related suicides, which very well might apply to others as well. Of course, that solution is only practical in a society with a lively moral imagination, which in turn is only possible if influential public-affairs websites like this one embrace rather than abjure or scoff at morality.
Probably the most interesting book written about dying in the Western world is “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande. It is a complex, subtle book. Part of its focus is on having the discussion with your loved ones about what “a life worth living is” before you need to make decisions on their behalf - recognizing that this conversation will be different for everyone.
I have had this discussion with relatives as they have granted me power of attorney in the event they are no longer able to make decisions. When the time comes, I will have those conversations about my end with my son. As a parent, it is my duty to make those decisions as clear and as simple as I can for him - because those decisions are hard and painful and clouded. BTW for me, I would not wish to live with dementia (my father had similar views).
With all that said, I understand concerns about the abuse of power. And assisted dying is not the primary way that states end the lives of their citizens (most often it is thru neglect and greed rather than an active choice).
The state should have no authority to end an innocent person's life.
In this age of miracle medicine and healthcare a person can be kept alive, sometimes indefinitely. But to let the bureaucracy decide when to pull the plug is the ultimate in dehumanization.
There is a difference between being a body kept alive and having a life. The broader point is that states and their functionaries make life and death decisions every day. The question is not whether they should make such decisions, rather how they should make such decisions to minimize harm.
This is what I love about Catholics working in WOD.
And this also has the taste of Soylent Green.
The Atlantic did a piece on Canada's expanding euthanasia efforts this year. Anyone with a single shred of conscience who read it was sick to their stomach. The same argument about innocents and criminals in American Justice ("Better 100 criminals go free than 1 innocent man be punished") should apply to these horrid programs, if they must exist at all. I do think the blood on our hands isn't worth the risk to our society.
Alas, what can I do? Progressives are gonna progressive.
I recently watched "Can I Get a Witness," a new Canadian film, during a transcontinental flight.
Wow. This fantasy lays out the pros and cons to assisted suicide: in the fantasy, every person is euthanized at age 50.
The two "witnesses" hired to oversee this represent the opposing viewpoints.
The argument for killing all aging adults is that they must sacrifice themselves for the survival of the planet.
This argument is happening right now...I am shocked to read social media posts of young people who claim having children is "selfish"...no gratitude toward parents for their selfish choice to have "me"? Nonsense reasoning.
We have lost our moral compass, and along with it our humanity.
Twenty years ago I wrote an essay about depression, which, as you know, is responsible for a great many suicides. Near the end I offered a very practical policy solution for reducing depression-related suicides, which very well might apply to others as well. Of course, that solution is only practical in a society with a lively moral imagination, which in turn is only possible if influential public-affairs websites like this one embrace rather than abjure or scoff at morality.
https://agnionline.bu.edu/essay/message-from-room-101/
I embrace morality !
Lord, have mercy....
Probably the most interesting book written about dying in the Western world is “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande. It is a complex, subtle book. Part of its focus is on having the discussion with your loved ones about what “a life worth living is” before you need to make decisions on their behalf - recognizing that this conversation will be different for everyone.
I have had this discussion with relatives as they have granted me power of attorney in the event they are no longer able to make decisions. When the time comes, I will have those conversations about my end with my son. As a parent, it is my duty to make those decisions as clear and as simple as I can for him - because those decisions are hard and painful and clouded. BTW for me, I would not wish to live with dementia (my father had similar views).
With all that said, I understand concerns about the abuse of power. And assisted dying is not the primary way that states end the lives of their citizens (most often it is thru neglect and greed rather than an active choice).
The state should have no authority to end an innocent person's life.
In this age of miracle medicine and healthcare a person can be kept alive, sometimes indefinitely. But to let the bureaucracy decide when to pull the plug is the ultimate in dehumanization.
There is a difference between being a body kept alive and having a life. The broader point is that states and their functionaries make life and death decisions every day. The question is not whether they should make such decisions, rather how they should make such decisions to minimize harm.
How about letting the bureaucracy decide to continue spending finite public resources to keep bodies alive indefinitely?
This is what I love about Catholics working in WOD.
And this also has the taste of Soylent Green.
The Atlantic did a piece on Canada's expanding euthanasia efforts this year. Anyone with a single shred of conscience who read it was sick to their stomach. The same argument about innocents and criminals in American Justice ("Better 100 criminals go free than 1 innocent man be punished") should apply to these horrid programs, if they must exist at all. I do think the blood on our hands isn't worth the risk to our society.
Alas, what can I do? Progressives are gonna progressive.
I recently watched "Can I Get a Witness," a new Canadian film, during a transcontinental flight.
Wow. This fantasy lays out the pros and cons to assisted suicide: in the fantasy, every person is euthanized at age 50.
The two "witnesses" hired to oversee this represent the opposing viewpoints.
The argument for killing all aging adults is that they must sacrifice themselves for the survival of the planet.
This argument is happening right now...I am shocked to read social media posts of young people who claim having children is "selfish"...no gratitude toward parents for their selfish choice to have "me"? Nonsense reasoning.
We have lost our moral compass, and along with it our humanity.