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SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN AMERICA

This past week, two very prominent issues briefly set Internet news discussion sites ablaze: 1) Terri Schiavo's impending court ordered starvation unto death; 2) the conflict between federal and state rights regarding a Ten Commandments monument set up in an Alabama Court building. The outrage factor from conservative Christians appears to be about equal in magnitude on both issues. And that perplexes me because I see a huge difference in the issues at the heart of both controversies.

First, let me be clear that I’m not accusing conservative Christians of treating these two issues as either/or, in duplicity; many upset at the planned execution of Terri Schiavo by court ordered starvation probably have little or no knowledge of the Ten Commandments story, and vice versa. Second, both issues have liberals in the opposition to the conservative Christian perspective. But which issue is more illustrative of the terrible degradation our nation has reached? Asked that way, I would hope that Christians could point immediately to the plight of Terri Schiavo, but when I’ve asked that on various discussion threads, responses tend to be delayed, like the responders are having to think it over! THAT’s what perplexes me, that Christians have become so easily manipulated by the ‘agree to disagree’ treachery through which so many liberal societal standards have chipped away at our nation’s moral fiber.

Here’s an excerpt from a FreeRepublic.com thread where Terri Schiavo’s peril was being discussed (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/964817); two or three posters were defending the courts ordered execution of Terri based on the use of a feeding tube and the assertion that she’s in a persistent vegetative state, which she’s not based on my medical familiarity with that condition … and we’ll return to that in a moment (even that state would not allow organ harvesting because the person is considered to still be a living being not to be killed for their organs):

“It's not that she CAN'T swallow. Swallow Studies have been prohibited because (get this) she might choke to death. I worked with people like her for 16 years, and such a decision is not just irrational (the alternative is to use the excuse that she can't swallow on her own to starve her to death) it is not supported by standard practice. Frankly, tube-feeding or swallowing isn't a substantive distinction anyway. The point is, her "husband" and a few liberal judges have gone out of their way to destroy the legal firewall between difficult life-conditions and actual brain-death.
This country must not allow a legal system which has been complicit in denying this woman any chance at recovery to murder her in the most painful and prolonged way.
Life is either sacred or elitists can decide who can live and who must die. ...

138 posted on 08/16/2003 9:58 PM EDT by Burr5

I’m addressing this essay to fellow conservative Christians (not the Hildys or other abortion supporters lurking about), but the poster just cited said he’s/she's an Atheist, yet she/he knows where the line of inhumane should be drawn without hesitation! Icons and minarets are not sacred, but human life should be to a conservative Christian, and he/she shouldn’t have to stop and contemplate the gravity of icons as compared to living human beings.

So you may be asking yourself, ‘Why is this guy getting so agitated about this; is this guy somehow related to Terri Schiavo or her family?’ The answer to the latter is no, and the answer to the former is all about defending the sanctity of individual human life. See, the same mindset that can defend the euthanizing of Terri Schiavo (rather than allowing her parents to care for her since her husband is no longer in the mood) is the mindset that will defend the exploitation of human embryos for their body parts, their stem cells, claiming the individual human embryo is not a full human being thus it is to be cannibalized for body parts to treat older individual humans.

Not even the phrase ‘slippery slope’ conveys sufficient gravity for the slide this nation has taken over the past thirty plus years regarding the sanctity of individual dependent human life. We’ve reached the stage in our devolution where those calling themselves conservative Christians are not sure whether human life is sacred based on the case by case contemplation … the sanctity of human life has been replaced with utilitarianism based upon a situational ethic that confounds and nullifies the Christian ethic.

For decades now, courts have been making rulings regarding the harvesting of human organs for transplantation to aid other human beings. My own brother’s body was harvested for tissues and organs that aided many people, after he had slipped into an irreversible comatose state where there was not even the glimmer of brain activity and his body functions were being maintained via machinery and medications. To take him for harvesting, a death protocol form had to be checked off. If he had not met the protocol, his body would not have been released for harvesting. The protocol establishes whether a functioning integrated whole human organism is still in evidence (and Terri fits that category more than adequately for she does breath on her own and does respond to stimuli both visual and painful).

But the question with Terri Schiavo is, ‘What level of life support is deemed too much?’ Yes, that is really what this issue comes to, how much life support is a liberal society with liberal courts and judges willing to provide before deciding to ‘pull the plug’ … no, that’s not right! What level of life support is a liberal society willing to provide before changing its mind and killing the burden? Now, that’s more accurate.

A Christian conservative should never have to stop and weigh the situational ethic when it comes to approving life support for an individual human being, in a womb or in a hospital or hospice facility. That some do now have this dilemma when confronted with life issues is why abortion on demand has become more favored with un-planned pregnancies than adoption of the conceived individual human beings.

Soon, very soon in fact, our nation will face the issue of cannibalizing alive, very young individual human beings for their ‘useful’ body parts. Oh to be sure, the first cases will not be more than days-old embryos, likely even embryos conceived outside a human body. But with the technological advances now being tested, it will be quite likely that embryos conceived in petri dishes will be life supported on into the fetal age of the alive individual, then served up for harvesting. It is, after all, only a matter of conservative Christians adjusting to the degrees of situational ethic. And folks, that really perplexes me!

While many peoples’ attention is fixed upon a monument in an Alabama courthouse, a woman is being court-order euthanized, to remove the inconvenience of her life support and avoid spending money to give her rehabilitation opportunities which have already been paid for by an insurance settlement. And that makes me very angry … at US for tolerating such evil.

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[The above can be found on my blogpage (http://MHGinTN.blogspot.com), and there an addy is posted, to rail at me if one chooses ... but don't expect a reply, especially if from a liberal death cultists. I collect the novel ones for use in future publications.]

Absolutely wonderful post. Thanks for always jumping on these occurrences in our society and for your posts against abortion.

I'm afraid I often become overwhelmed with all the assaults on our values and when in that state - I drift on to a more pleasurable topic.

I agree about the views expressed often on FR. Seems there is a progression to more selfish interests when talk comes along about the ill, aged or weak in our society.

Many do not want any hint that these will be a drain on taxpayers and therefore - they (who are not personally affected) easily brush off the plights of these who cannot help themselves. Maybe this is because these are younger posters and have not yet seen enough of life and the plight of those unable to care for themselves.

They do not realize that the judgements they make on these people are the same judgements they will have to live under. They could easily become a Terry. I would not want to live in her condition - but (a large BUT), I would want someone protecting my right to life. Who wants to be lying there unable to care for themselves as the ghouls analyze what body parts can be mined. Who wants to be killed because we have not healed fast enough especially when the ghouls are not providing the medical attention to heal?

How can they claim such a woman needs to die - if they are not claiming that it is a just verdict for any in this position - including them.

Yet - the basic point is the value of life. We are not God and we are not the ones to take away life - God does that.

This is a progression from the acceptance of "pulling the plug" on the brain dead. Just one step to "pulling the plug" on those with defective brains. This is a progression from acceptance of abortion in our society. If we are willing to kill those not yet born, we have already become judges of who lives. Just a few little steps to "forgetting" that a child is in a hot car (delayed abortion) and then "pulling the plug" on the brain dead progressing to withdrawing feeding from the sick elderly, progressing to assisting the death process when WE FEEL IT IS TIME FOR DEATH for OTHERS.

I think some of this comes from the fact that many physicians have a god complex. This coupled with the lack of religion easily pushes them into daily making value of life judgements. This attitude then spreads to the medical staff and into society.

There needs to be a major outcry about Terry's situation. IMHO this man was provided $700,000 to care for her and he is using it on maintenance care - not medical rehabilitation because he does not want her rehabilitated. A divorce would then be necessary and half of his belongings would go to her. Far more profitable to assist her in dying (as stated that she wished). In addition, the sooner she dies - the more of the money he and the new honey get.

Maybe we need to get O'Reilly and Hannity nudged. The parents were on one of those shows.