AS WE PASS 100 HOURS OF STARVATION AND DEHYDRATION

it is worth remembering that the excruciating slowness of the execution here, the incremental-ness of death, is designed by its champions to inure us to it. After the first hour, the second passes with far less fanfare, and the third less still. I've been following this closely, and I needed to remind myself today how many hours Terri Schiavo has actually been without sustenance by counting the days since Friday afternoon and multiplying by 24. How much more easily the time passes, and the world around us changes, for those following only fleetingly, or not at all.

Why should we think this is intentional? Consider, say, a month ago, before Terri's plight took center stage, if you had asked someone in the abstract: "How would you feel about starving and dehydrating a defenseless, brain-damaged woman?" The answer is easy to imagine: "Outrageous, atrocious -- something that wouldn't be done to an animal and couldn't be done to the worst convicted murderer."

But then it actually happens ... slowly. You're powerless to stop it, and ... you find your life goes on. There are kids and jobs and triumphs and tragedies and everyday just-getting-by. An atrocity becomes yet another awful thing going on in the world. After a day, or maybe two, of initial flabbergast, we're talking again about social security reform, China, North Korea, Hezbollah, etc. A woman's snail-like, gradual torture goes from savagery to just one of those sad facts of life. As is the case with other depravities once believed unthinkable, it coarsens us. We slowly, and however reluctantly, accept it. We accept it. The New York Times no doubt soon "progresses" from something like "terminating life by starvation," to "the dignity of death by starvation," to "the medical procedure that opponents refer to as starvation." And so the culture of life slides a little more. The culture of death gains a firmer foothold.

Of course, the physical needs of the body are not limited to food and water. There is also air. But no judge, even in Florida, would ever have had the nerve in Terri's case to permit "the medical procedure that opponents refer to as asphyxiation." Too crude. Too quick. Too obviously murder of a vulnerable innocent. Brazen, instant savagery might wake us from our slumber. For the culture of death, better that we sleep.

How could this happen in "the land of the free and the home of the brave"?

A very good question.

Michael's personality, combined with his circumstances, has produced a situation where he is either;
doing the proper and respectful thing for a human being whose body can no longer support it's soul,
or he is a a scheming murderer delayed by interference from Terri's parents.

Either way, the SITUATION exists. The PRECEDENT CASE EXISTS. We have had previous precedence cases, and that is why we have guardian DNR's, and patient requested DNR's in use in our system already.

It is an uncomfortable topic, but one we must meet squarely in the face.

Michael is a pawn of Felos, who arranged to take on this to set his precedent. He sees a market in the commodity of death. Sure, we see it as evil, he sees it as another means of capitalism in our society. Of course, so does organized crime.

Blame anyone we want, but the truth is that all of these people are the pawns of God.

The events are there for us to each deal with in the unfolding of our lives, ourself. Spiritually, and mentally. Morally, and legally.

It is about what we think is right as a society, and how we deal with those that break those rules.

God is testing everyone, everyday. There are those that say all is predecided. I tell you it is not. Free will was not a teaser. God provides all. The situation as well. Then, he experiences what we do about it.

The fact that there was even a hint, of a speck, of a particle of suspicion that there was a snake in the woodpile, should have meant that our 'system' would put a halt until the truth was discovered.

Well, Watching Terri die is a very sad, and very disappointing thing. Many Freepers here got personally involved and traveled to Florida. Many spent countless hours researching and absorbing the information, and that was on all sides of the issues, the battles.

Terri may be the sacrificial lamb, because God wants it to hurt in your heart, when we have every reason to believe a human being is being treated worse than an animal, and we let it go on.

Because we have a chance to evaluate just where are we going and how far with this death thing.

Many find it hard to see why Terri should not be allowed to pass into heaven, (and should have done long ago) by letting her die a natural death (dehydration), even though painful and slow.

Why? Because there is a water faucet in her room. Because there was a metal valve on her tummy. Because there was a tube that food and water could go down.

Because it is the least we do for a person, is give them food and water.

We give it to homeless people.

See, many don't remember, but this vegetable issue came up a long time ago.

It wasn't well accepted, and wasn't well known.

Eventually it shifted to nursing homes.

Where we put the old folks to die.

So that market was expanded into various money producing setups (all legal, all above board), and there are some expansions into illegal areas.

I think we are seeing an example of one.

So what do we, as the people, do?

Consider, say, a month ago, before Terri's plight took center stage, if you had asked someone in the abstract: "How would you feel about starving and dehydrating a defenseless, brain-damaged woman?" The answer is easy to imagine: "Outrageous, atrocious -- something that wouldn't be done to an animal and couldn't be done to the worst convicted murderer."

Yes, it is truly shocking and so wrong! And a scary thought just occurred to me: what if the rest of her family had gone along with the wishes of the vile husband? Would we even have heard or read her name? How many other men and women are subjected to this cruel death by thirst and starvation, around the country, and we never even hear of it, because their next of kin decides to withdraw food and water and they have nobody to speak for them?

It makes me shudder!

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