Just a thought
Watching the tragic story of Mrs Schiavo unfold on the TV, I couldn't help but feel for both her husband's side of the equation and her parents'. Of course I understand her parents' desire to keep her alive, I'm a mother myself. My heart bleeds for them. My heart also bleeds for her husband, who I truly believe acted in what he considered to be her best interests.
The question is, is it life at any price? Would I wish to be kept alive under those circumstances? After some serious consideration, the answer is 'no'. I wouldn't want the indignity of being fed through tubes, of being washed down by others, my waste products taken away by tubes... Neither would I wish to put my loved ones through the hell of having to be with me when I was like that. Of course, that is my decision about my life. I wouldn't presume to impose my beliefs on anyone else. If it were someone else's decision to stay alive at any cost, then so be it.
What has really pissed me off about this is the interference by Bush. It was a medical and legal matter. It was not his place to influence his government on the subject. And what I don't get is, why is it wrong to allow someone kept alive only by the life support machines to die with dignity when it is 'right' to allow children to have access to guns? Oh, I'm not saying that the laws say it's right, but let's be realistic here. Where there are guns in a house, kids have access. Just ask the mother of the 2 year old in Texas (? I believe it was there, I stand to be corrected) who was shot by his 4 year old brother. Just ask the parents of the children gunned down at school a few days ago. Just ask the parents of the children killed in the Columbine school massacre.
And his latest comment that people in vulnerable positions deserve a level of care by society makes me fume. I'll admit I have a major problem with state sanctioned murder, aka the death penalty. So perhaps I'm biased. But then it's been proved that many innocents have died at the hands of the executioner - wherever and whenever the death penalty has been in force, including this country. Where was the level of state care then? Under Bush's governorship, more people were executed and fewer penalties were commuted to life imprisonment than under pretty much any other governor.
It would seem that life, in his view, is only worth fighting for if the family are white, 'pro-life' 'Christians'. At least that's the impression he gives. Just ask the kids who are starving in Iraq because there isn't enough food for them to eat. Ask the kids in Iraq whose parents were killed by an unlawful invasion. Ask the parents of the kids who died there when the bombs went astray.
Tonight, my prayers are with the whole Schiavo family. I hope she rests in peace.
If you're wondering why I've removed the comment feature on this, it's for 2 reasons. One, I won't be here to read any comments. Two, this isn't to engender discussion, but thought. This is a very personal view - it can only ever be a personal view. Bush should have remembered that.
The question is, is it life at any price? Would I wish to be kept alive under those circumstances? After some serious consideration, the answer is 'no'. I wouldn't want the indignity of being fed through tubes, of being washed down by others, my waste products taken away by tubes... Neither would I wish to put my loved ones through the hell of having to be with me when I was like that. Of course, that is my decision about my life. I wouldn't presume to impose my beliefs on anyone else. If it were someone else's decision to stay alive at any cost, then so be it.
What has really pissed me off about this is the interference by Bush. It was a medical and legal matter. It was not his place to influence his government on the subject. And what I don't get is, why is it wrong to allow someone kept alive only by the life support machines to die with dignity when it is 'right' to allow children to have access to guns? Oh, I'm not saying that the laws say it's right, but let's be realistic here. Where there are guns in a house, kids have access. Just ask the mother of the 2 year old in Texas (? I believe it was there, I stand to be corrected) who was shot by his 4 year old brother. Just ask the parents of the children gunned down at school a few days ago. Just ask the parents of the children killed in the Columbine school massacre.
And his latest comment that people in vulnerable positions deserve a level of care by society makes me fume. I'll admit I have a major problem with state sanctioned murder, aka the death penalty. So perhaps I'm biased. But then it's been proved that many innocents have died at the hands of the executioner - wherever and whenever the death penalty has been in force, including this country. Where was the level of state care then? Under Bush's governorship, more people were executed and fewer penalties were commuted to life imprisonment than under pretty much any other governor.
It would seem that life, in his view, is only worth fighting for if the family are white, 'pro-life' 'Christians'. At least that's the impression he gives. Just ask the kids who are starving in Iraq because there isn't enough food for them to eat. Ask the kids in Iraq whose parents were killed by an unlawful invasion. Ask the parents of the kids who died there when the bombs went astray.
Tonight, my prayers are with the whole Schiavo family. I hope she rests in peace.
If you're wondering why I've removed the comment feature on this, it's for 2 reasons. One, I won't be here to read any comments. Two, this isn't to engender discussion, but thought. This is a very personal view - it can only ever be a personal view. Bush should have remembered that.