SCHIAVO IS DEAD, THE POPE IS GONE AND I AIN’T FEELING TO GOOD MYSELF
I have been extremely busy in my regular business lately, so posting here on the web site has been put on the back burner for a while. I intend on getting it up to full form in the next few months. I am also in the process of rethinking how we present the commentary that appears here. I’ll ask our regulars for some input on that in the coming weeks. But onto the news.
HOW THE SCHIAVO STORY SHOULD READ
Terri Schiavo was murdered this week. Her killer is George Greer, a professional hit-man, still on the loose and considered armed and dangerous. He was last seen wearing a black robe and posing as a member of the weakest branch of government. Greer was hired by the victims husband and also received assistance from the Democratic Party and liberal pundits. Anyone with sick relatives are warned to be on the look out.
Okay, maybe that’s a little over the top, but not by much. I’ve held back on commenting on this story for a couple of reasons. First, I didnt’ really know the facts and second, I’ve had personal experience with the same thing. If more people knew the real facts they would be scared to death by what has happened. First my personal experience.
In 1990, after years of poor and declining health, including the need to breath through trach-tube, my father had an accident which caused his breathing tube to stop functioning. He was without oxygen for at least 30 minutes, maybe more, and even though he was revived the lack of oxygen damaged his brain severely. He lay in a hospital bed for several days and doctors ran all the tests and scans they needed to assure us, his family, that he would not come out of his vegitative state and would require constant life support to survive.
Because we knew that he did not want to live in that condition, we did not hesitate when the doctor offered the option of removing life support and letting him die. We stepped out of the room while the nurses removed the breathing tubes and turned off the machines. When we returned, the kids gathered around his bed and held him as he died. It took less than 30 minutes.
I miss him. I miss my father every day and I would be lying if I said I’ve never had doubts about what we did. Were we being selfish so as to avoid the possiblity of years of daily care and medical expenses? Did we do the right thing? My heart and my head says, yes.
Terri Schiavo’s death was not the right thing. Where my father could not have lived without tubes and machines breathing for him and pumping his heart, all Terri needed was care and nourishment.Part of her family wanted to give it to her. Had my father only been in a coma and only needed somebody to feed him and care for him, that is exactly what we would have done.
Terri was actually no different than a little baby. She needed constant care.
She couldn’t feed herself, but with the help of loving parents, she could have lived a fulfilling life. How is that different from your average 2 year old? So shouldn’t it be legal to kill a baby you didn’t want? OH WAIT, I FORGOT, IT IS!
That is really what this boils down to. How you view the sanctity and preciousness of life. Some people, like Terri’s husband, Judge Greer, all liberals and most Democrats, view human existence in degrees. Life, in certain stages, is more worthy. That is scary, because it means somebody else can have the right to choose if the degree or stage of life you are in is worth allowing to continue. Terri was killed for only one reason, she couldn’t’ speak for herself.
What if a little baby is born with a severe handicap. It’s mother dies and there is no other family. Shouldnt’ we just kill it? Put it out of its misery? Nobody will want to adopt a handicapped baby, right? Why waste all that time and money on a baby that may never be able to walk or talk or even care for itself.
What if an old man in a nursing home is unresponsive. Nobody knows if he has any family and his bank account is empty? Why not kill him? He’s just gonna be a burden on the rest of us and how long will he live anyway?
And what about prisoners? You know, the really bad ones who have killed people and got out of prison and killed again? They’re never gonna change, are they? Let’s just kill them and be done with it.
Think about those scenarios. Think about Terri Schiavo. Now think about the incomprehensible position of most liberals on the sanctity and preciousnous of life.
It’s okay to kill the unborn, for any reason. It’s the mother choice and we have to respect that.
It’s okay to kill people in comas, even if their family doesnt’ want them to die.
It is wrong to take the life of a murderer because all life is precious.
Wait a minute…my head won’t stop spinning….there, I’m okay now.
I applaud the Republican party for being willing to take a stand for life. It is consisten with who we Republicans are and what we believe.
Terri Schiavo was murdered because her husband didn’t want to deal with her any more and he found a willing judge and public to back him up. If that doesn’t scare you, nothing will.
brian Says: April 3rd, 2005 at 5:09 am
The precedence set by the Terri Shindler case opens up a new avenue by which to rid ourselves of the extreme left wing socialists/communist,they are clearly in a persistant vegitative state. Maybe this new system of life by appointment only is’nt such a bad thing after all.
Julian Says: April 3rd, 2005 at 5:15 am
Buck, Your point is almost exactly the one that I am trying to make on behalf of the innocent Iraqi people who have died as a result of US actions. Let us mourn for them as our brothers and sisters. Let us open our hearts to the value and sanctity of their lives too.
George Apell Says: April 4th, 2005 at 11:25 am
There are two verses from the Bible that I keep thinking about:
1. Judge not, unless you yourself be judged.
2. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
I am not a Christian, I follow the Buddha Darma (teachings of Buddhism), however my upbringing was Christian and I have a vast respect for the teachings of Jesus. From that basis I have some observations:
- It might be instructive to think of Terri Schiavo’s consciousness/soul as already departed given her diagnosed state. Her body, along with the electrical impulses of the nervous system were left behind. This is not life as defined by most religeous or philosophical beliefs.
- The majority of Americans (see any recognised poll, including FoxNews) would also prefer the feeding tubes to be removed should they be in the same situation. They also disagree with the political involvement of Congress and the President, despite their personal beliefs.
- The Constitution provides for the separation of Church and State, as well as an independant Judicial system. The USA is ruled from a basis of Democracy and the rule of Law, common to all Americans. People like DeLay should be very wary about projecting their personal/political bias into disrupting Constitutional process.
- Vitriolic attacks and veiled threats against members of the public or the judiciary have no place in US society. To possible incite violence in this way is reprehensible. Judge Greer was a Republican by the way, and intepreted the case based on law and the evidence place before him. If you disagree with this system, why don’t you consider regimes like the former Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma and North Korea. Or perhaps the USA is preferable after all?
George Apell Says: April 4th, 2005 at 11:36 am
There are two verses from the Bible that I keep thinking about:
1. Judge not, unless you yourself be judged.
2. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
I am not a Christian, I follow the Buddha Darma (teachings of Buddhism), however my upbringing was Christian and I have a vast respect for the teachings of Jesus. From that basis I have some observations:
- It might be instructive to think of Terri Schiavo’s consciousness/soul as already departed given her diagnosed state. Her body, along with the electrical impulses of the nervous system were left behind. This is not life as defined by most religeous or philosophical beliefs.
- The majority of Americans (see any recognised poll, including FoxNews) would also prefer the feeding tubes to be removed should they be in the same situation. They also disagree with the political involvement of Congress and the President, despite their personal beliefs.
- The Constitution provides for the separation of Church and State, as well as an independant Judicial system. The USA is ruled from a basis of Democracy and the rule of Law, common to all Americans. People like DeLay should be very wary about projecting their personal/political bias into disrupting Constitutional process.
- Vitriolic attacks and veiled threats against members of the public or the judiciary have no place in US society. To possible incite violence in this way is reprehensible. Judge Greer was a Republican by the way, and intepreted the case based on law and the evidence place before him. If you disagree with this system, why don’t you consider regimes like the former Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma and North Korea. Or perhaps the USA is preferable after all?
Julian Says: April 4th, 2005 at 7:16 pm
In his tribute to Pope John Paul II, Juan Cole beautifully captured much of the pope’s vision for humanity saying “But John Paul II was often an inconvenient man, whose moral vision would be upsetting to the US Republican establishment if it were taken seriously. He opposed the death penalty, to which George W. Bush is so attached. He opposed the Iraq War. He condemned laissez-faire capitalism and cared about the exploitation of workers, who he felt should have a dignity that is seldom bestowed upon them by the Walmarts and other firms in the US. And he cared about the rights and welfare of the Palestinian people in a way that virtually no one in the American political establishment does. He symbolically blessed the Palestinian claim that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Palestinian people.” http://www.juancole.com
Anthony Says: April 4th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
The Pope was an intellectual, gentle, charismatic man…a good skier and a grotesque proselytizer of iron age mythology. Smart though irrational, kind though backward, he was a troubled soul.
Cody Says: April 26th, 2005 at 10:35 pm
Anthony, the Pope was one of the most wonderful people of all time. He helped stop communism and even forgave the man that shot him! Backward? Irrational? Exactly how many grades did you skip?
Zach Says: June 3rd, 2005 at 5:52 am
Pope John Paul II, or Karol (can’t remember last name), was the leading figure of the Catholic faith, he died as the perfect representative of Christ, he was humble, passionate, and most of all, forgiving. No how can he be irrational, Anthony? Give me one good reason, just one….