I was busy working on the climactic scene of my Emma Zunz script, and, wanting a break, I went onto Facebook. Big mistake. What did I find but that my brother, one Joshua Carter-Syme, had, in a fit of productive procrastination, posted this. I repost it in its original form so that yes, you can see that he is indeed the brains of the family.
Well, this is a note, that is to say, a piece of writing/other form of information recording, which is recorded to avoid decay. Enjoy.
Comparatively speaking, when I was younger I was smarter. I was better at philosophizing, much better with logic, and my skin was a little paler. I've noticed that this is a continuous process, and it annoys me. Although I'm still constantly absorbing information, becoming more intelligent, the process is slowing down, and in just a few years, it could very well go into reverse. As it is, I used to learn a small amount faster than others, which somewhat made up for my lack of knowledge and common sense. Right now, my intelligence is increasing rather slower than that of those around me, even if it is technically still increasing. How to say this, its acceleration is decreasing. I can only imagine what I'll be like after a decade, since I expect it to hit and go beneath zero at around the nineteen-twenty year mark. If it hits zero and stops, then I'll be a being with no capacity for new knowledge, a pointless shell, and a waste of space. If it goes beneath zero, becoming negative, then I will ultimately end up with a mental capacity equivalent to that of someone in a PVS. That's not really something I want, for reasons which should be obvious. It is partially because of this that I will eventually be campaigning for the rights to assisted suicide and euthanasia...Because they're still not legal!
If the right to life is a basic right, given to all members of the human species merely for being a part of said species, then it follows logically that the right to death is its inseparable counterpart. Why is it that human life is considered sacred, and always prolonged, even against the wishes of the individual? Isn't the reason abortion is mostly legal these days that people have a right to control what goes on in their bodies, even to the extent of ending a potential human life? Hasn't anyone ever heard the phrase "Quality over quantity"? There is no reason to follow the religious consensus on this matter, yet I believe that a great deal of the anti-euthanasia, anti-suicide support comes from organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church, of which a vast number of people are adherents. Are we to simply let the subjective belief in a logically contradictory and immoral deity stand in the way of reason, and freedom? Mankind has fought against oppression before, and no matter how long it takes, eventually the tyrants are toppled, and peace reigns for a short while. but this may be the hardest battle in our entire history, and whomsoever wins, we lose.
The question is, which of us will lose, and which of us actually should lose?
I do not hate religion. I believe it was necessary for our survival, and may well be what supposedly separates us from the other animals. But its time has passed. It is now, like our bodily response to stress, not simply useless, but unhelpful. The only difference is that religion is self aware, and acts more like a virus than the simple cause-and-effect system of the human body. It realizes that it exists, ignores the fact that it naturally ends up killing its host organism (in this case, humanity), and rapidly multiplies, aiming for total control. Oh, the analogy is flawed, but ultimately I see very, very little difference, and it serves as well as any. Regardless, organized religion now holds us back, condemning freedom of speech, of sexuality, even of thought. We must place it behind us, and move on into the open pastures of logic and reason, which will surely welcome us with open arms, metaphorically speaking. There, we can simply be, not worrying about sin or redemption, no longer plagued by contradiction and close-mindedness, free at last.
The Netherlands have shown that euthanasia need not lead to a "slippery slope" effect, and surely legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia is better than the alternative? Currently, if I want to have a lethal drug administered by a professional, I have to travel to America, locate a state which still allows the death penalty, and go on a killing spree.
This obviously causes far more harm than it needs to, and even simple suicide is still problematic. Not only do you have to acquire all the tools and such in secret, which is irritating, but the process isn't even very hard...just tedious. More importantly, once the deed has been done, there is the shock and horror of the family and friends, and often an investigation, complications with wills and deeds and insurance, and all sorts of other irritations, many of which cost the government themselves not a little, and the taxpayer a great deal indeed. Then the family must live with the guilt and sadness of your death. There is nothing here to consider worthwhile, and yet hundreds are forced to it because of the current prohibition of assisted suicide, and the implied illegality of even wanting to die. Hating your entire life does not make you insane, in need of psychological help, nor is death such a bad thing. If you have nothing to live for, you should be allowed to die, plain and simple. If you are capable of rational function, you should be allowed freedom.
Why not just legalize the bloody thing and have done with it?
Until the inevitable response, I rest my case.
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