A
discussion of suicide ensued on Facebook. The number of suicides in
this nation is rising. A few in this debate believed that suicide is
not painless; that it hurts.
I
know some close to me who have had a family member end their life and
those family members and friends who had to see that are not okay.
Those affected by a loved one's suicide hurt and are often, if they
cannot get help, devastated for life. The person committing suicide,
I suspect, does not or did not realize the devastating impact that
their death had or will have on those who love them. Perhaps, they do
realize that but are in such physical or mental anguish
they simply do not care or they feel that they are so alone, have no
family or even friends to whom they can turn that the psychic pain, as
they perceive it, make them feel they have no choice but to end their
life themselves.
Life, I believe, is not meant to be lived in such
anguish either physically or mentally. It cannot be about what life should
be. Yet there are others like a relative of mine who was in such torment from
a prolonged painful tragic disease said in a way that he could "I love life!" It is amazing the hardship
some can take while others cannot and succumb to the vicissitudes of life.
Today
where national
situations brought on at the behest of Congressional Republicans and a
Republican corrupt president trying their damnedest this time, unless
some Republicans find a conscience, to tragically pull health care, yes,
their constituents' right to life, from millions who cannot financially
afford the astronomical costs of it. Add to that sickening fact is the
international situation is so fearfully bad that nuclear war hangs like
the the angel of death over the world's head because Trump cannot
negotiate nor are there many left in the State Department to do so. Add
to this are the devastating effects of
climate change some will end their life because a zero ethics
utterly corrupt president and a Republican controlled Congress has made life or soon will make it so unbearable for those who do not
have enough money to bear it and Trump pulls out of the world's Climate Change Agreement. The only peace some people can imagine is a life not here to bear those crushing realities.
There are many contributing factors to suicide. If
Trump and Republicans get what they have always wanted you will be able to watch the suicide rate rise
significantly. This does not have to be so.
This draconian Republican death care bill must
propel each and every one who sees what has been threatened by
Republicans to do to scream, shout, protest, write letters and occupy if
one can Republican offices asking the Congress persons in them -- no
demanding -- they take pity on those who through no fault of their own
will be besieged even killed by this presidential and Republican health
care bill just so Republicans and Trump can have a "win." I ask you
what have they won?
Schopenhauer,
the 18th century philosopher, said the driving most important force of
man is his "will to live"; Victor Frankel, the author of "Man's Search
for Meaning" and a survivor of the WWII concentration camps marveled at
how few suicides there were in the camp in the face of an intolerable
and painful existence. These are points to ponder but our job now is to
ensure through government policy that no one is forced to die or to end
his/her life and that the will to live is, for most of us, our eternal
mandate.
Jam
the phones of the White House and Congress, write letters, send emails,
or occupy Republican offices if you can. The time is short because
Republicans want to ram the death care bill through before September
30th. The life you lose may, in fact, be your own!
RESIST!
