Is Life Sacred?
What a question! The answer to most people would be obvious - of course it is! But is it really? Judging from the evidence, there isn't much support for the proposition. We see the cold-blooded murder of Benazir Bhutto, along with 30 or so bystanders, we see the 50 or more people who took refuge in a church in Kenya, only to be burnt alive by a mob, we see time and again school shootings and other outrages. We see Iraq.
This has not been a good start to the millennium. We've just witnessed the bloodiest century since the world began and some folks hoped the 21st would bring something better. Sorry, folks. It's not that humankind is any worse, it's just that Genghis Khan and Tamerlane didn't have cluster bombs, poison gas or nuclear weapons. We're still the same guys with better toys.
But back to the issue of the sacredness of life. Who's life are we talking about? During my upbringing I understood it to mean human life. The lives of cattle and sheep and hogs are not our concern; we eat them, otherwise we'd go hungry. Even vegetarians eat living things. We shoot elk and bear for sport. Lions eat antelope; insects eat some monkeys alive. It's a hard world out there; we're all trying to make a living.
If I were a moose, I might consider my life sacred. No doubt a prairie dog or a spider would think likewise. It all a depends on your point of view.
The sacredness of life comes into play when the subject of euthanasia comes up. Hard-core Christians are aghast at the idea. But how sacred is the life of a terminally ill person in great agony? The most liberal nation in this regard is Holland. Unfortunately, as I understand, there have been abuses of this liberality. Did all of those people really want to die; were they able to communicate their wishes? Were some inheritors in too much of a hurry? Was the care of the patient too much of a load? Serious questions indeed.
But in the final analysis, is life sacred? I see no evidence of it. The religious argument doesn't hold water. Having said that, however, does not excuse us for not having reverence for life. Any life; a person, a dog, a snake. When young I would step on bugs without thinking. Now if there is a spider in the house, I pick it up and put it out. I'll shoo a fly out the door rather than swat it, although I will swat when necessary. I confess to having no mercy for mosquitoes or black flies. Self defense. There are certain Buddhists who will take care not to harm earthworms when they dig up the soil. They believe that the worm may be the reincarnation of a family member. Not totally altruistic, maybe, but I applaud it nonetheless. We should all be as caring.
This has not been a good start to the millennium. We've just witnessed the bloodiest century since the world began and some folks hoped the 21st would bring something better. Sorry, folks. It's not that humankind is any worse, it's just that Genghis Khan and Tamerlane didn't have cluster bombs, poison gas or nuclear weapons. We're still the same guys with better toys.
But back to the issue of the sacredness of life. Who's life are we talking about? During my upbringing I understood it to mean human life. The lives of cattle and sheep and hogs are not our concern; we eat them, otherwise we'd go hungry. Even vegetarians eat living things. We shoot elk and bear for sport. Lions eat antelope; insects eat some monkeys alive. It's a hard world out there; we're all trying to make a living.
If I were a moose, I might consider my life sacred. No doubt a prairie dog or a spider would think likewise. It all a depends on your point of view.
The sacredness of life comes into play when the subject of euthanasia comes up. Hard-core Christians are aghast at the idea. But how sacred is the life of a terminally ill person in great agony? The most liberal nation in this regard is Holland. Unfortunately, as I understand, there have been abuses of this liberality. Did all of those people really want to die; were they able to communicate their wishes? Were some inheritors in too much of a hurry? Was the care of the patient too much of a load? Serious questions indeed.
But in the final analysis, is life sacred? I see no evidence of it. The religious argument doesn't hold water. Having said that, however, does not excuse us for not having reverence for life. Any life; a person, a dog, a snake. When young I would step on bugs without thinking. Now if there is a spider in the house, I pick it up and put it out. I'll shoo a fly out the door rather than swat it, although I will swat when necessary. I confess to having no mercy for mosquitoes or black flies. Self defense. There are certain Buddhists who will take care not to harm earthworms when they dig up the soil. They believe that the worm may be the reincarnation of a family member. Not totally altruistic, maybe, but I applaud it nonetheless. We should all be as caring.
posted by puzzled @ 12:24 PM
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