Posted on 04/20/2005 11:25:41 PM PDT by FairOpinion
Three weeks will soon have passed since Terri Schindler-Schiavo was forced to die an inhumane and tragic death. Thousands who were against Terri's killing claim they find themselves awake at all hours of the night trying to come to terms with what happened to Terri. Many state they are suffering from overwhelming depression, frustration, and feelings of powerlessness. Others find themselves struggling to understand how America stood by and allowed Terri to be publicly murdered and not receive judicial or police protection.
Only a few short weeks ago, we witnessed thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world rise in protest to the heinous crime involving the murder of Terri Schindler-Schiavo. During the long 14 day period, as Terri laid suffering from starvation and dehydration, members of the US Congress gathered in a weekend forum to vote on a bipartisan bill that would assure Terri's constitutional rights. The bill was aimed at saving her life. The President of the United States who was preparing for Easter with his family, was urgently flown from his vacation ranch home in Texas to the White House to sign a bill that was passed in a 203 to 58 vote. So, why now are we faced with feeling the unsettling side effects of Terri's murder? Why do many seek answers to questions such as: How does a nation justify, publicly watching the death of an innocent disabled woman while no one was capable of stopping her murder?
When trying to find any sense of understanding or acceptance regarding Terri's murder, we must discuss some aspects surrounding the topics of death. Death, as we all know, is defined as: "A permanent cessation of all vital functions." Due to its permanency, we find death very disturbing under any circumstance. Death creates a destabilization of our existence, knowing there is no turning back. Normally, we experience death when it results from illness, unexpected trauma, or old-age. We are seldom, if ever, confronted with the unique emotions associated with murder happening in our family. When we hear about a murder we usually find ourselves gasping at the crime as it makes headline news. The loss of human life is final and emotionally traumatizing on any society. Any way we wish to view it, the intentional infliction of death on a human being, will always be defined as murder. Our country bases its philosophy on the value of "preservation of all life," thus, creating its laws to say, under no circumstances should anyone take the life of an innocent human being. We ask then, why was Terri allowed to be murdered as the world stood by and watched?
Once we are subjected to loss of life, we naturally emerge into what is known as the grieving process. Grief as we know it, has limitless boundaries. Often when we are forced to grieve, we flail aimlessly and timelessly into what appears to be an open abyss. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross describes in her book "Death and Dying," the 5 stages of grief as: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. In order to move through the grieving process, we must at some point encounter the 5 stages of grief. Many will vacillate between the phases of grief for an undetermined period of time.
We also know there are thousands of people who routinely struggle with the controversial issues surrounding the death penalty. It is not unusual, or unreasonable for people to find difficulty digesting the legal liberties that are given to man when they are authorized to inflict the finalities of death upon any human being. Be the death penalty right or wrong, those who struggle with it can often find some sense of rationale and acceptance in knowing that those on death row were convicted and tried for a crime which brought forth their death sentence. However, what happens to the thousands who are reaching for that same sense of understanding and acceptance when grieving for Terri's publicly inhumane murder? Terri, was not a criminal and never hurt anyone. She was not tried, or convicted of any crime. She was not terminally ill, or unhealthy. She was not taken off to the hidden ominous fields where victims are murdered by their unknown killers. Despite all, we had a nation that was forced to watched Terri's tragic and unnecessary death, making it difficult, if not impossible, to transition into the grieving phases of acceptance.
We recognize that Terri was not any more special to her parents, than any other child is to their parents who love them. It is a given that she will be just as missed by her family, as others tend to miss their family members when they die. However, once again, as we seek some rationalization and acceptance in dealing with Terri's death, like we do in the normal grieving process of others, we find ourselves reaching an emotionally unsettling and angry set of emotions to deal with. Perhaps,it is due to the disturbing visions of a Mother publicly pleading for the life of her daughter; a daughter who would not be dead if it weren't for an estranged spouse who intentionally starved and dehydrated her, to her death. These visions leave the sane population very distraught. We again find ourselves asking, how do we move into the acceptance phase of grief after watching an innocent member of our society be murdered and denied the right to receive help? We knew, and will remember Terri as the innocent woman who through her means of natural communications waited patiently each day for her loving and very dedicated family to visit her so she could smile and laugh with them. We knew how her biological family had struggled for years to be capable of providing her with the therapy and help that we all naturally reach for when we are hurting, or injured. We shall always recall the look of love and warmth on the faces of Terri and her Mother as they embraced each other. Was the love and unity of the Schindler family so wrong a bond that we had to remove one of its members?
For Terri, sadly, the help that we normally would have expected to come her way, never did arrive. Where does this leave the thousands of civilized people who are now in shock, remembering the agonizing expressions on Mary's face as she pleaded for someone, anyone, to help rescue her daughter? How do we as a nation cope with Terri's unnecessary and brutal murder; a murder that we not only heard about over and over again though out every media source, but were also forced to watch as it appeared on national television for 14 long days? How do we justify the murder of a woman who was healthy and did not have to die, yet, we did nothing to stop it? When did America begin denying a family the right to care for one of its members? Who will be next?
I personally refuse to accept the notion that we have become a barbaric society living amongst many others like George Felos, Michael Schiavo, George Greer, and Deborah Bushnell. The four people who comfortably watched Terri slowly have the life sucked out of her, and then later rationalized Terri's death as merciful. Terri's death cannot be defined as anything but cold, callous, inhumane, unnecessary, wrong, and against all the laws that our country was founded upon. Laws that still read, MURDER is illegal! Assuming the majority of our world still believes murder is wrong, we must ask ourselves what can we do to prevent Terri's situation from happening to another individual? How can we seek justice for Terri and see to it that the four people who are responsible for the 14 days of her inhumane killing are brought to legal justice? We must also ask ourselves, is it more reasonable to suggest that the thousands who supported Terri, who were appalled and against her death, the emotionally unstable religious zealots that George Felos suggested they were? Or, is it more reasonable to say that rather it was Terri's estranged spouse, his euthanasia attorneys, and the judge in Pinellas County, who are the emotionally unstable death zealots who need to be convicted for their criminal actions?
More importantly, as a civilized society, we must question, are we going to challenge the inhumane laws that killed Terri, or, are we willing to allow her death to be in vain and chalk it up to becoming the new season preview for Reality Guardianship Murders? I do believe that it is vitally important for every person who grieves Terri's tragic death to have these questions answered, all in an effort to enter into the Acceptance phase of grief.
Maybe he was carrying out his wifes last wishes this would also explain his actions, we don't know.
I would think that we should error on the side of life rather than death.
Can't argue with that, I totally agree.
Bookmarked.
A great piece...
Yikes.. it's even worse than I thought.
Thank you for the info, ClancyJ. I stand corrected.
I think you had what is called a wish-dream. You dreamt what we all wanted for Terri. The nightmare is the reality.
Translated: losers with no lives got obbsessed with something that was none of their business, it didn't go their way, and they don't know how to cope with reality.
No, quit blaming the leaders and get busy changing the Florida laws.
By dwelling on what you think the leaders should have done, you take away the power in your own hands and that is exactly where the solution is.
I do not blame the FL freepers at all - I was just commenting on how come we are not hearing of what they are doing. They should be so outraged and demanding correction.
And when we don't know - we need to err on the side of life because it cost Terri her life on the "chance" Michael was telling the truth.
Very costly for Terri. There was a 50/50 chance he was telling the truth. Doesn't sound like good odds for a death sentence.
I blame the leaders absolutely I do but you didn't read my post that thousands of people are doing stuff behind the scenes? maybe I'm one of them? You were saying where are the Fla freepers? At the Vigil we kept saying Where is Jeb? Who's the governor? not me.
Although I agree we should err on the side of life I don't think Terri is any worse off than she was when she was alive.
I'm sure she is in a better place now. God rest her soul.
Even advanced directives don't really make sense, as they are written when you are healthy trying to guess what you might want if/when you are not. Most people say "I would never WANT to live like that...." but once it happens, it is no longer about "wants."
Does anyone WANT to be in a wheelchair? But after they are injured, the next step is fighting hard for the best life they can. Does someone WANT to get cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis? How about cancer? (The list is obviously very long.) But once something tragic happens, most people try very hard to get the most out of each day of the remainder of their lives.
How can you really know that you would no longer want to live when the unthinkable happens? And what happens when doctors and relatives decide that THEY would not want to live like that, so they will end YOUR life? When we start letting feelings and opinions play too big a part, too many Terri's will happen.
I am not known as a cheerleader for "progressive" trends in western culture but this is yet another nadir. I see it plainly as a post-birth abortion, again for reasons of convenience. The number of abortions and (mostly to-be) euthanasia murders in your and my countries will make 9/11 look like a stubbed toe. I part with many FReepers in believing that the worst threats to our Judeo-Christian ways of life lie within, not from the Middle East. Terrorists can also kill innocent people, a terrible thing, but they have no way of altering the fundamental values of our society in the way that Felos is intent on doing*. If anything, the Islamics galvanize values against their own interests, even in the absence of mass terrorism (The Netherlands and Islamic immigration come to mind). Felos and Co., however, operating in a more seductive (to some people) and insidious form, have the ability to make right wrong and wrong right in the consciences of many people.
Again, your quote:
I cannot imagine how the US will come to terms with this evil deed.
The U.S. will come to terms in one of two ways: By accepting it as the "right" thing to do, in Felos' contrived morality, to be integrated into a "right-to-die" "liberty" (we know Terri did not want to die but this is how the history books will be written), or by summarily rejecting it as a morally repugnant practice in the (especially Catholic) Christian tradition. I have very little hope the latter will occur, just as abortion has stayed "safe and legal" all these years with the protection of the courts.
I'm not sure what to do right now other than pray. In the early 90's I visited your neighbor New Zealand and was charmed at the traditional values I encountered. Unfortunately, I know they are now going down the same roads converging at the culture of death.
Maybe a better place awaits us?
* I would make an exception here for Israel, as Islamics terrorists could and probably will devastate Israel to the point of cultural annihilation at some time in the future, but this vulnerability is a matter of geography.
If you are for judicial tyranny and despots, good for you. Greer needs a couple more bootlickers down at the courthouse.
I agree that it's a great piece. And liberals are supposed to have cornered the market on feelings. That will be the day. I may retire using the term compassionate conservative as too many so called cc's voted against Terri or bowed to poison penned Greer.
Neither you nor I knew Terri Schaivo from Adam.
MURDERED by a judge with a poison pen.
This kind of rhetoric is exhibit A of why the Terri fanatics got nowhere. No one murdered anyone; she died 16 years ago from a heart attack. Medical technology can prolong the body, but it can't recreate the mind. Her cerebral cortex - the seat of consciousness - was liquified. (The source for that data is the guardian ad-litem report.) She was dead, the only person in a place to make patient-care decisions decided it was time to let her go, and it is no one's busisness but his. Not the government's, not Tom Delay's, not George W. Bush's, not Terri's parents, not yours, not mine. None of us has a right to second guess his decision. It's a private decision made in the most tragic of circumstances. Call it what you will, but it is most certainly not murder.
How can people be protected from medical power of attorney being snatched from caring relatives and placed in the hands of questionably motivated other relatives by gullible judges?
It looked like the judge in Mae's case ruled carelessly and then let the hospice people and the granddaughter take over without having to answer for any aspect of the judge's ruling not being followed. It looked like things were being done in the dark until the light was beamed upon what the "hospice" was doing in cahoots with the granddaughter.
murder
"I personally refuse to accept the notion that we have become a barbaric society living amongst many others like George Felos, Michael Schiavo, George Greer, and Deborah Bushnell." | Cheryl Ford, RN
Cheryl, accept it or not, the evidence that says we are is there. Also there is/was a large segment on this forum that supported her murder.
What you wittnessed was the solving of the social security, medicare aand medicade crisis.
yawn, bye FV
Lemme see. Hypothetically speaking. Say I am Jude24's spouse. Jude24 collapses one dark night under mysterious circumstances. (I later decide Jude24 was bulimic. Voila! Easy explanation. Unproven, but I am a very handsome/pretty and convincing person. The judge likes me and always rules in my favor.) Jude24 falls from having a heart attack that was later ruled not a heart attack. Jude24 breaks many bones from this mysterious fall caused by a non-heart attack. I squire Jude24 around in a wheelchair and groom him/her up until I win a BIG lawsuit for Jude24's rehab. Then, BAM! Jude24 never has a dime of the rehab money spent on Jude24's rehab. Instead, I find a new honey and hire a lawyer to off Jude24. I lock Jude24 away with no more trips to the lake or sun shine. I stalk the new honey and scare her and have to find a new honey. I have two kids with the new honey over the next ten years, all the while paying the lawyer to fight Jude24's parents who want to take care of Jude24 out of Jude24's rehab money. Jude24 belongs to me. I have suddenly recalled after 7 yrs. that Jude24 wouldn't want to live like that. Finally, I get my way. That has been real important to me apparently all along. Too important. Still a lot of legitimate unanswered questions. Not so simple.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.