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| The Raving Atheist: Good Bye, Terri |
| 2005-03-27 |
| According to the religious left and its death cult allies, the effort to save Terri Schiavo is some kind of nefarious plot by right-wing theocratic whack-jobs. Indeed, media-conformists accept this is as fundamental dogma, like the evils of McCarthyism or the wrong-headedness of the Vietnam War. There is another side, always has been, and New Media are giving it a platform: The religious right, it is said, is conspiring to trample Terri's rights, to defeat Terri's wishes. But whatever the cynicism and hypocrisy of its leaders (and I agree there is plenty), I think the attitude held among those clamoring for her death is at least as religious. If Ms. Schindler-Schiavo is what their premises insist -- a faux-human husk -- she is not a thing capable of having wishes or rights. She is not in a position to hate her predicament or desire a way out of it. To say it is humane it kill her is to assume she is capable of appreciating humanity. To say she should be allowed to die with dignity is to assume that she is somehow more capable of demanding dignity than a corpse. Indeed, the very reason that starvation has been allowed as the method for her demise is that she is well beyond suffering. If there was courage behind that conviction the expedient of a lethal injection or a bullet to the brain would be employed. Or, better yet, she'd be buried still breathing. As I said here, I think she should be given the benefit of the doubt. There is no great harm in preserving her life. Nor is some great principle, some grand universal moral imperative, served by killing her. Keep in mind that it is nothing more than a wish of her husband. If he wished otherwise no one would have heard of her and certainly no one would be extolling the virtues of her death. Keeping her alive is expensive, perhaps; a tube must be filled and her body cleaned. But the argument has little force in a nation awash in iPods and plagued by obesity. We can listen to one less song and eat one less hamburger. We can build more hospitals and still spend the money to save that little girl trapped in a well, or that woman trapped in her own body. And we are all safer in a nation populated by people like my friend Ashli, who (whatever their delusions about the afterlife), so madly embrace life in all its forms and at all its stages rather than give the presumption to death. Terri will die on Easter and much will be made of that timing by people you detest. However tempted, I will not be mocking them here. |
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #9 I hope so (re: some LGF Paki equivalent) - sauce for the goose.... One thing Schiavo and Greer and the lawyers dont realize: They just lit a fire under Pro-Lifers of all stripes, and given them a great motivator and issue (activist judges, who will be painted as arrogant) for the 06 mid-term elections and for 2008. And that pressure will fall squarely on the Dems (whether deserved or not) in the coming confirmation fights. I was resting pretty comfortably on the 04 election results, but this one has me fired up again. I know I will be a lot more involved in 06 than I originally thought. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-03-27 3:38:54 PM |
| #8 I'd never have thought an Atheist and me, a fairly conservative Roman Catholic would ever be on the same page. (and Ralph Nader too!?!?!!!!). Despite the rather greusome images and postshots at religion, his is the ultimate "reductio ad absurdem" I have seen against those who would support this state sanctioned killing of the helpless. Here is the nugget - and why the Left is such a danger in their opposition: we are all safer in a nation populated by people [who] so madly embrace life in all its forms and at all its stages rather than give the presumption to death. Its sad that we came to this. An abusive husband and a biased stubborn judge have just wreaked enormous damage on our society and governmental system. This fight has just begun. This was the clarion call against judicial fiat. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-03-27 1:15:11 PM |
| #7 I hope so (re: some LGF Paki equivalent) - sauce for the goose.... One thing Schiavo and Greer and the lawyers dont realize: They just lit a fire under Pro-Lifers of all stripes, and given them a great motivator and issue (activist judges, who will be painted as arrogant) for the 06 mid-term elections and for 2008. And that pressure will fall squarely on the Dems (whether deserved or not) in the coming confirmation fights. I was resting pretty comfortably on the 04 election results, but this one has me fired up again. I know I will be a lot more involved in 06 than I originally thought. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-03-27 3:38:54 PM |
| #6 I'd never have thought an Atheist and me, a fairly conservative Roman Catholic would ever be on the same page. (and Ralph Nader too!?!?!!!!). Despite the rather greusome images and postshots at religion, his is the ultimate "reductio ad absurdem" I have seen against those who would support this state sanctioned killing of the helpless. Here is the nugget - and why the Left is such a danger in their opposition: we are all safer in a nation populated by people [who] so madly embrace life in all its forms and at all its stages rather than give the presumption to death. Its sad that we came to this. An abusive husband and a biased stubborn judge have just wreaked enormous damage on our society and governmental system. This fight has just begun. This was the clarion call against judicial fiat. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-03-27 1:15:11 PM |
| #5 Thank God I am an Atheist. Voltaire |
| Posted by: SwissTex 2005-03-27 9:08:16 PM |
| #4 I hope so (re: some LGF Paki equivalent) - sauce for the goose.... One thing Schiavo and Greer and the lawyers dont realize: They just lit a fire under Pro-Lifers of all stripes, and given them a great motivator and issue (activist judges, who will be painted as arrogant) for the 06 mid-term elections and for 2008. And that pressure will fall squarely on the Dems (whether deserved or not) in the coming confirmation fights. I was resting pretty comfortably on the 04 election results, but this one has me fired up again. I know I will be a lot more involved in 06 than I originally thought. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-03-27 3:38:54 PM |
| #3 If it were done in Kuwait or Pakistan, we'd call it an honor killing, and put it on Page 2 as background material. I wonder if there's some nascent Charles Johnson somewhere in Pakistan posting about this on his website. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-03-27 1:33:51 PM |
| #2 Oops, belongs on page 3. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2005-03-27 1:23:40 PM |
| #1 I'd never have thought an Atheist and me, a fairly conservative Roman Catholic would ever be on the same page. (and Ralph Nader too!?!?!!!!). Despite the rather greusome images and postshots at religion, his is the ultimate "reductio ad absurdem" I have seen against those who would support this state sanctioned killing of the helpless. Here is the nugget - and why the Left is such a danger in their opposition: we are all safer in a nation populated by people [who] so madly embrace life in all its forms and at all its stages rather than give the presumption to death. Its sad that we came to this. An abusive husband and a biased stubborn judge have just wreaked enormous damage on our society and governmental system. This fight has just begun. This was the clarion call against judicial fiat. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-03-27 1:15:11 PM |