OK, being as I'm trying to get to sleep here soon, this needs to be short. I've been following the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case, and besides being generally disgusted with the population of this country, I'm really amazed- no, that's not the right word... I'm not sure what the right word would be- by some of the thoughts that have occurred to me. I'm promising myself to do a longer piece on most of this, but I just need to get some of this down now.
First off, although I'm glad that the case appears to be coming to an end, specifically the one it sounds like Terri wanted, I'm saddened that she is starving/ dehydrating to death right now. Galling as it is to agree with some of the [slightly more rational] bible-thumpers, it is pathetic when we offer death row criminals a more humane ending. Personally, I think that once the decision was made to allow her to die, Terri should have been given an injection. Not a "natural" death, but there's a reason we try to improve on nature.
Second, what in the hell is going through the minds of some of these politicians that they are adding to this three ring circus?! It is none of their business. There are family feuds every day, plenty over medical care, and it is not the place of our government to interfere in personal matters. The courts have done their jobs, now the Bushes and their cohorts need to get back to doing theirs. Bad as W is at his job, at least he could pretend to do it. There are more pressing matters than whether one woman lives or dies.
Third, this entire country is going absolutely nuts! Liberals are doing the "work of satan", conservatives are "murdering nazis", Christians are alternately forcing people to live by or urging them to kill for their beliefs, and where the hell does that leave the normal people? The ones who believe a person is a person is a person? That none of the other crap really matters? I guess I'm a liberal- I certainly agree with them over the conservatives on most things. I think religion should be a personal choice, not a government mandate. I think people should be allowed to love and marry whoever they want. So according to the conservative rants I've heard (usually signed with something creative like "american revolushun aginst the left") I'm a liberal and therefore going to hell. Oh well, as long as those same people aren't there, I'll be happy. I find it personally gratifying that my ideal place on earth would be damned uncomfortable for those people. So I'm not exactly helping to close the gap there. I honestly do want the country more unified- I just want it unified with what I know to be right... Oh God, I'm starting to sound like a conservative. Help!
I know people are inherently afraid of dying. We're afraid of screwing up during our lives- of doing something wrong, and worse, something we can't fix. So we believe in our gods and afterlives, and tell ourselves that even if we screw up, God Will Fix It In Heaven. I don't think that's a bad thing. It can be misused, and sometimes is, but I think overall the idea offers more comfort than anything else. And I hope it is true, that if we limited humans screw up, there's someone understanding and caring who will help fix it. With Terri's case, obviously one side is wrong about what she wants done. Hopefully she really would want to come off the feeding tube, and if not, hopefully there is that greater being to care for her. Either way, I'm sorry for her. It was her own actions that caused her condition, at least initially, but after all she's been through, she's more than made up for that.
Well, that should be enough to get me to sleep. Ironic that it's not the crazy stuff going on in my life that prompts me to vent so that I can sleep, but fate of a woman I'll never know. Nick'll ask me why I read this stuff. Certainly not because I care if I'm informed or not. In the end, I just don't know, but Canada's looking better by the day.