Yesterday there was another school shooting.
Yesterday there were calls again for politicians, government, anyone to "do something, don't just pray, don't just talk, take action...create more laws, fix mental illness, make it stop."
Yesterday there were the usual debates between those desiring government intervention in hopes of eliminating mass murder and those pointing out how we allow "mass" murder everyday in the form of abortions (and even euthanasia) followed by the usual "don't change the subject" admonition from the "more gun control" side.
Yesterday someone pointed out that this is NOT changing the subject if you are looking at the big picture, that if life isn't valued when it starts or when it is ending, then why should we expect life to be valued anywhere in between?
Yesterday these conversations reminded me that legislating any of these issues, whether gun control or abortion, is just a band-aid. We can legislate all day long, but some people will still find a way to express their hurt by hurting other people, some people will still find a way to eliminate an inconvenience or to prevent or end a perceived suffering. They will find a way to live out their egoic selfish natures, to put their wants, desires, hurts, opinions, beliefs first. Some people will still value their own life, their selfish desire for revenge, or their dogmatic adherence to what they believe is a superior belief system over someone else's life.
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Yesterday I sat in a meeting with family members, a case worker, and a doctor. Our purpose was to determine the next steps on behalf of another family member who is currently hospitalized because they are refusing to eat.
Yesterday we had to decide whether or not we could or should intervene if this person continued down their path of starving themselves.
This person has adamantly and verbally expressed, as well as recorded in a written directive, that they do not want any interventions, specifically in the form of a feeding tube.
This person has attempted suicide multiple times in their past. This person has tried every drug known related to depression and/or anxiety with no permanent relief.
This person has undergone ECT shock treatments with temporary positive outcomes. This person's last experience with ECT went very wrong and they came out of anesthesia too early causing severe psychological trauma, anxiety, and recurring nightmares. This person refuses to use ECT again as a possible remedy.
This person has suffered from a lifetime of anxiety and depression. This person has been suffering physically from severe tremors for the past couple years that were possibly induced or triggered from all of the culmination of drugs they have tried for treatment. This person suffers from extreme anxiety and doesn't feel safe unless in bed in a dark room. This person states they feel empty inside. This person is unhappy, miserable, and is passively-aggresively committing suicide using the only method they know they can control. This person does NOT appear to value their life anymore.
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What if our family member's body finally succumbs to the act of starvation and starts to shutdown? What if this person can't resist intervention anymore? What if we can force our family member to eat at that point by deciding they will have a feeding tube? What if we insist that they keep on living no matter how they feel or appear to be suffering? Will that family member value their life then? Can we value their life for them? Do they need to participate in some way, show some sign that they want to live?
Can valuing life come from an external entity to be forced upon someone? Can we force people to see and know that we are all part of one Life, one Light, one Being, one Body? That by killing another we are killing ourselves? That by not valuing other's lives we can't value our own life? How can people become aware? Can it come through "doing something"? Can it come through politicians? Can it come through legislation?
Or does it need to come from within?
