Monday 17 November 2008
A Question of Perspective
A man was attacked in Germany in 1996 by neo-nazis, which left him paralysed from the neck down. His wife died of cancer in 2000, and he is now contemplating assisted suicide at a clinic in Switzerland. That is all I will say about this story, which continues on this BBC webpage. Read it, and come back here to leave a comment.
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I agree that this man's life is pretty dismal in some ways. It's unfortunate he has not been out of his room for so long. I understand there's been a cut in his services. My daughter had a massive stroke in March 2002 & remains totally paralized on the left side & her services have been cut also. But she's at home with her children & husband and continues to make due in her present condition. This man has family & friends that love him and need him in their lives...my opinion is that his desire to die is somewhat selfish on his part. I understand that I can't possibly even imagine what his day to day life is like. But I do know that he can still speak, he can love and offer advice and comfort to his loved ones. And as a Christian, I am pro life and I believe that we don't have the right to take any life, even our own. Christopher Reeve was much in the same condition as this fellow. After his accident, he spent his days living to the best of his ability & encouraging others. Washington state voters recently passed a "Death With Dignity" law and I think it's a step back for our state. I know some will totally disagree with me on this one but these are my feelings on this matter. P.S. Guido I love your header picture!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a difficult issues, I can see both points of view. Medical advances are wonderful now with stem cell research, electronics etc. Who is to say that something cannot be done for him in the future. On the other hand I ask myself woud I like a life like that. On the whole I think life is precious and, as long as I could still contribute something to others, I think my answer would be yes. Like I said, so difficult. We do not have to live as he does.
ReplyDeleteI`ve read both sides of the argument Guido but I don`t feel able to make a useful comment.
ReplyDeleteLove Sandra xx
Wow. I don't think it is up to any of us to judge this man's wishes. Think about it. Can any one of us honestly say they would want to go on living stuck in the same room day after day, not able to move (no flipping tv channels or book pages, no gardening, no cooking, playing ball with our grandchildren, etc), relying on others to do the most intimate personal grooming, and then add the lose of his wife and his old self. How many of us know what that really feels like? How many of us could stand being this way for even a week? I couldn't do it. I really feel for this man. I hope that making his story public all of the world can somehow bless to his life.
ReplyDeletehttp://this-is-really-me-wildautumn.blogspot.com/
http://love-for-wildautumnrose.blogspot.com/
This is sure a heavy subject, also a very personal one. I think we can all only speak from a personal point of view. So personally as a someone who does need a bit of help and may need much more as the years go on !! I could never contemplate suicied as believe that although it would be nice to think that it is MY life I know that there is someone else who thinks differently ! think it is a very selfish solution to ones problems.. There are so many people in this world who give love help and assistance willingly who am I to deny them this, just because it would make me feel better if I didn't need them. None of us are an Island and at some time we will all need help unfortunatley some more than others
ReplyDeleteHaving said that I believe that everyone has the right to make any decision that they think is best for them and their loved ones
This is terribly difficult, Guido. I think everybody should have the right to decide about his/her own life. We cannot feel what other people feel. I believe that life is precious and we should preserve it at any cost, but I do not know what I'd feel in another situation. Take care. Ciao. Antonella
ReplyDeleteI, too, agree that this is a very personal decision, and a difficult one that I can't truly judge from the outside, albeit I couldn't assist in anyone's suicide. I hope his life can become more meaningful to him, and wish him some peace or something. He must feel terribly down.
ReplyDelete'Perspective' can be the art of drawing on a two dimentional surface so as to give the right impression of relative positions and size. The mental view of the relative importance of things in my humble opinion requires the fourth dimension of a lifetime to bring the full picture into focus.
ReplyDelete