Pillow Girl

[bridgetester]

[Please read the whole article before making comments]

Tragic girl, 9, is 'frozen in time'http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=31489&in_page_id=34Read more... )

Comments

[leora]

I believe that a plant shouldn't be killed without a good reason. I believe that someone who deliberately goes around killing plants simply because they can is evil. However, I believe that the wellbeing of humans is more important than the wellbeing of a plant, so if a plant needs to be killed to support that, I'm okay with that. It gets dodgier if you're talking about the extinction of an entire species.

We routinely kill pets when they are suffering. Someone who killed a pet who wasn't suffering because it was simply more convenient for them to do so would generally be viewed as a bad person, at least by me and people I know. If you choose to have a pet, you choose to take on the responsibility of that pet. That's significant. Similarly, if you choose to have a child, you accept whatever you get. That's scary, but that's the way it works. If that really bothers you, you can try to do pre-screening and implantation of a healthier fertilized egg and selective abortion partway through pregnancy, but after a certain point, you've got a kid, and you are responsible for that child.

Of course infanticide was incredibly common throughout human history and in virtually all cultures. So what? We're trying to be better humans.

I don't believe every human life is equally worth saving, but I do believe that every human life is worth saving. However, that doesn't conflict with euthanasia when the human life in question is suffering. Also, you can take out the word "human" from that and it'd still be true for me. I'm okay with killing a life to support a larger goal. I'm totally okay with antibiotics to keep a human or animal healthy, even though it means killing countless bacteria. But I'm not okay with death without cause. Accidents happen. Death is inevitable. But I don't believe in helping that along or not trying to prevent it without good reasons.

We simply have vastly different values, and that means we'll likely never agree. We differ at axiomatic levels, I'd assume.

Also, I believe life should be free, because it can be. We can produce enough food to feed every human in the world. The US alone could do that. We have the resources and ability to provide basic needs for every human fairly cheaply. We just choose not to. And I think we'd be a whole lot better off if we chose to. I think people will have a better quality of life if they live in a society where everyone is safe. And I think if everyone has their basic needs and education provided for and guaranteed, then more people will use their skills. You'll have more artists and scientists and engineers. And you'll have a lot less crime. And you'll have a lot less fear.