Terri and 'The Silence of the Lambs' [sad vanity]

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

[Eyes watering] And one morning, I just ran away.

No 'just', Clarice. What set you off? You started at what time?

Early, still dark.

Then something woke you, didn't it? Was it a dream? What was it?

I heard a strange noise.

What was it?

It was ... screaming. Some kind of screaming, like a child's voice.

What did you do?

I went downstairs, outside. I crept up into the barn. I was so scared to look inside, but I had to.

And what did you see, Clarice? What did you see?

Lambs. The lambs were screaming.

They were slaughtering the spring lambs?

And they were screaming.

And you ran away?

No. First I tried to free them. I-- I opened the gate to their pen, but they wouldn't run. They just stood there, confused. They wouldn't run.

But you could and you did, didn't you?

Yes. I took one lamb, and I ran away as fast as I could.

Where were you going, Clarice?

I don't know. I didn't have any food, any water and it was very cold, very cold. I thought, I thought if I could save just one, but - he was so heavy. So heavy. I didn't get more than a few miles when the sheriff's car picked me up. The rancher was so angry he sent me to live at the Lutheran orphanage in Bozeman. I never saw the ranch again.

What became of your lamb, Clarice?

They killed him. Tell me, Clarice - have the lambs stopped screaming? You still wake up sometimes, don't you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs. Yes. [To value the life of one lamb, what about the life of one person? A sacrificial lamb.]

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

"The case of Terri Schiavo raises complex issues," Bush stated. "Yet in instances like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life. Those who live at the mercy of others deserve our special care and concern. It should be our goal as a nation to build a culture of life, where all Americans are valued, welcomed, and protected - and that culture of life must extend to individuals with disabilities."