 |
 |
Dear Rayilyn, I agree with what you say in your most recent message -- until you tell us: "As a PWP my life is not worth squat anyway ..." I realize you are just expressing how you feel at times, and I've felt that way too. But we could equally well say -- and I'll bet that you will agree with this -- that even a painful life is worthwhile in the sense of deserving respect and adequate care. A serious illness can certainly detract from life's value. I note that you don't take meds. Because they just don't seem to help, I assume. Help is on its way, in the form of biomedical research, but it's difficult to say how long it will be before a cure is found. Stem cell research is one of the most promising research paths, but -- as you've noted -- it is not supported by the government. On the contrary, there are politicians out there who want to criminalize it. I appreciate your humility and truthfulness. But I fear that if we don't value our own lives, then others won't value them either, and won't even perceive the importance of improving our lives and making them as pain-free as possible. Others -- most importantly those who don't personally know anyone with a condition like PD -- can take this attitude: "A painful life is a life scarcely worth living. So let's not waste resources on such a life." It seems to me that this attitude -- saying that one life is worth more than another -- leads to some of humanity's cruelties. If we believe that the life of someone in a foreign country -- in Iraqi for example -- is worth less than the life of someone in our country, or that an ill person's life is worth less, in an ethical sense, than that of a well-bodied person, then we won't be in much of a position to ask our society to look after the interests of those who are especially vulnerable and in need of help. Just as an ill child may need more family resources coming in his or her direction, so it is with illness -- our society should be paying special attention to people with serious conditions like Parkinson's. But to get this point across to the public, we're going to have to be very upfront about our illnesses and our needs. That's why famous people who go public with their illnesses -- like Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali -- help our cause. The project I'm working on, "Portraits of Hope," which honors individual people (including the people in this discussion group) who have conditions that stem cell research might help, also makes an important contribution. Well, that's enough for now Rayilyn. I hope that your life will be gratifying and worthwhile this weekend! As they say, one day at a time. Raymond Barglow *************************** On Saturday, March 8, 2003, at 05:39 AM, Rayilyn Brown wrote: > Hi, Paul, > > Yes, I know about the accidents and can understand why you think war > is > necessary if you believe Iraq is an imminent threat to our country. > > Over 400 times in our history American Presidents (as > Commander-in-Chief) > have sent troops abroad to counter "threats". President Lincoln threw > Confederate sympathizers in jail to hold onto the border states. > > We'll just have to see how it all plays out, won't we? Seems people > will > NEVER find alternatives to war. > > I personally feel I should volunteer myself before asking someone else > to > fight and die. As a PWP my life is not worth squat anyway, so I'd go > if > they could get me over there so some 18 yr old wouldn't have to die > instead > of me. > > Hope they don't kick us off the List. Rayilyn > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn