The gate opened with the same old creak,
The air is filled with the voices of walls that speak
The room is arranged and the way it always was,
Nice, quiet and cozy, her scent fills the empty space
I take my seat where I always did, watching over the bed,
I'm trying to recollect the jokes that made her laugh from toe to head
The innocent look, the fresh old smile,
Her soda glasses and that simple hairstyle
Watching all these I fall off to sleep,
Her lap is comforting as always as I wander in my dreams
The cold air of change wakes me up and I'm back to reality,
I find myself alone in the room, now dark and empty
She has gone away to a place far, far away,
But, here in my heart she always stays
I'm sure she's fighting with the Almighty for a similar place,
Where she'll wait for me with her lap ready to comfort my face
P.S.: Dedicated to Grandma, May her soul rest in peace
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
EUTHANSIA: PAINLESS DEATH? OR ASSISTED SUICIDE?
Job 1:21: “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD”
We’ve heard this often in movies, haven’t we? The evil mad scientist peers over his creation who dared to go against him, gives out a wicked laughter and then shouts out, “I GIVETH AND I TAKETH AWAY”. Since, good always prevails over us the hero fights back, wins. The hero is happy (usually with his girl), we are happy and well life is beautiful again.
Speaking about giving and taking, I was always told as a kid that this life is gift from our dear god. So, we must make the most of it. Well, of course the main motive of this was to throw away any crazy ideas of suicide I may be having due to study pressure, peer pressure and the various other pressures. In fact, I have always believed that this life which we are living is a loan from our father to do something good and that we must try to make the most of it. Of course, this meant the first time I read about euthanasia I was totally distressed and confused.
Euthanasia by definition means “ending of a life in a painless manner.” Painless or not, but whatever happened to the value of life. When god created us he called it good and if our father thought we are good, well must have meant something. A life is too valuable to be ended by mutual consent. Fair enough, a patient is bed ridden, in a coma, paralyzed, but is this good enough reason for us to end his life. Which brings me to a few questions that may arise in the minds of most common youth today: Do we have a right to decide how long another person lives, a person who cannot talk, move? If say, we did have the permission of the concerned person to end his life, is it not the same as suicide?
One reason given to me was donation of organs for saving a life. But, to think about it, how right is it to take a life to save another? The following fictional discussion arose in my head when I heard about this:
Mike: Hey Allen, my uncle’s liver just failed yesterday. Do you mind if could use your father’s. He is as it is bed-ridden and in coma right?
Allen: Sorry man, the liver’s booked already. You could have the kidneys though; the doctors said they were in top condition.
Well, although science is advanced enough to replace one human’s organs with another’s, but look at the percentage of successful transplants and I think we’ll get another story.
Another line of thinking was since the person was of no “USE” we might as well help someone who was of some “USE”. This took me back to my grandma who was bed ridden and on medicines. A dedicated person was required to bathe her, clean her, and feed her. She needed her daily dose of insulin (diabetes) and oxygen pump session (asthma) I tried to find the difference between her and a person in coma and well to be honest I couldn’t find any. So, since she wasn’t of any “USE” should we have disconnected her?
A very important issue, which according to me is the only reason people opt for euthanasia is MONEY. All the organs usability and not putting the patient through the pain is make up over the real face. To some extent, it’s true that when one is spending money on a coma patient, paralytic patient you don’t know when it will end. In fact, you might in the end be spending in vain. But, then again of what use is the money if you wouldn’t use it to save your loved one. Use it for charity?! Use to help the poor?! These are some of the defences I got. The only question I ask is can’t you get a charitable institute to fund a life, if you aren’t in a position to do so?
So, the question I put forward is this: Is taking a life justifiable to save another? Is taking a life justifiable because the person is useless to you? If a person is asking you to kill him to relieve him of the pain, is it equivalent to sponsoring suicide? Is MONEY a good enough reason to warrant a painless murder? There would obviously be a difference of opinion, we are a democracy. So, could we face god after taking a life, just because it was in your hands? I know, I wouldn’t be able to!
We’ve heard this often in movies, haven’t we? The evil mad scientist peers over his creation who dared to go against him, gives out a wicked laughter and then shouts out, “I GIVETH AND I TAKETH AWAY”. Since, good always prevails over us the hero fights back, wins. The hero is happy (usually with his girl), we are happy and well life is beautiful again.
Speaking about giving and taking, I was always told as a kid that this life is gift from our dear god. So, we must make the most of it. Well, of course the main motive of this was to throw away any crazy ideas of suicide I may be having due to study pressure, peer pressure and the various other pressures. In fact, I have always believed that this life which we are living is a loan from our father to do something good and that we must try to make the most of it. Of course, this meant the first time I read about euthanasia I was totally distressed and confused.
Euthanasia by definition means “ending of a life in a painless manner.” Painless or not, but whatever happened to the value of life. When god created us he called it good and if our father thought we are good, well must have meant something. A life is too valuable to be ended by mutual consent. Fair enough, a patient is bed ridden, in a coma, paralyzed, but is this good enough reason for us to end his life. Which brings me to a few questions that may arise in the minds of most common youth today: Do we have a right to decide how long another person lives, a person who cannot talk, move? If say, we did have the permission of the concerned person to end his life, is it not the same as suicide?
One reason given to me was donation of organs for saving a life. But, to think about it, how right is it to take a life to save another? The following fictional discussion arose in my head when I heard about this:
Mike: Hey Allen, my uncle’s liver just failed yesterday. Do you mind if could use your father’s. He is as it is bed-ridden and in coma right?
Allen: Sorry man, the liver’s booked already. You could have the kidneys though; the doctors said they were in top condition.
Well, although science is advanced enough to replace one human’s organs with another’s, but look at the percentage of successful transplants and I think we’ll get another story.
Another line of thinking was since the person was of no “USE” we might as well help someone who was of some “USE”. This took me back to my grandma who was bed ridden and on medicines. A dedicated person was required to bathe her, clean her, and feed her. She needed her daily dose of insulin (diabetes) and oxygen pump session (asthma) I tried to find the difference between her and a person in coma and well to be honest I couldn’t find any. So, since she wasn’t of any “USE” should we have disconnected her?
A very important issue, which according to me is the only reason people opt for euthanasia is MONEY. All the organs usability and not putting the patient through the pain is make up over the real face. To some extent, it’s true that when one is spending money on a coma patient, paralytic patient you don’t know when it will end. In fact, you might in the end be spending in vain. But, then again of what use is the money if you wouldn’t use it to save your loved one. Use it for charity?! Use to help the poor?! These are some of the defences I got. The only question I ask is can’t you get a charitable institute to fund a life, if you aren’t in a position to do so?
So, the question I put forward is this: Is taking a life justifiable to save another? Is taking a life justifiable because the person is useless to you? If a person is asking you to kill him to relieve him of the pain, is it equivalent to sponsoring suicide? Is MONEY a good enough reason to warrant a painless murder? There would obviously be a difference of opinion, we are a democracy. So, could we face god after taking a life, just because it was in your hands? I know, I wouldn’t be able to!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The end don't matter ....
You feel the darkness all around,
You're lost in life's merry-go-round.
You don't know where to go or what to do,
You trust in your hope but that's slipping too.
You feel you are lonely walking the path untold,
Maybe its because you're eyes are closed.
Look around there's so much to cheer about,
You're not the only in this fight against self doubt.
Remember you're brethren who stand on the border,
They also have fear yet stand to keep the order.
Remember your mother whom you rarely in the morning greet,
So much sacrifices she made to make you stand on your two feet
Have you ever thought of the people who yearn for a home?
Even some of the dead do not have a tomb.
Yet you feel you are unhappy in life,
You fool its only because you worry about your own strife.
Fight on, if not for others then, to earn the respect of your own,
Make some meaning of this life gifted to you by a power which is alone
Don't whine but work hard for your own self not for showing the crowd!
Cos the end result don't matter if you can make God himself to be proud
You're lost in life's merry-go-round.
You don't know where to go or what to do,
You trust in your hope but that's slipping too.
You feel you are lonely walking the path untold,
Maybe its because you're eyes are closed.
Look around there's so much to cheer about,
You're not the only in this fight against self doubt.
Remember you're brethren who stand on the border,
They also have fear yet stand to keep the order.
Remember your mother whom you rarely in the morning greet,
So much sacrifices she made to make you stand on your two feet
Have you ever thought of the people who yearn for a home?
Even some of the dead do not have a tomb.
Yet you feel you are unhappy in life,
You fool its only because you worry about your own strife.
Fight on, if not for others then, to earn the respect of your own,
Make some meaning of this life gifted to you by a power which is alone
Don't whine but work hard for your own self not for showing the crowd!
Cos the end result don't matter if you can make God himself to be proud
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