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The reality of our society is that many will meet their end alone and in poverty. Is it so different from parts of our history, where the old chose to take a lo
by cannonpr 2y ago
The reality of our society is that many will meet their end alone and in poverty. Is it so different from parts of our history, where the old chose to take a long walk into the wilderness before the indignity of what follows? I’m not sure. We like to pretend our society is much richer and more capable than it is—that we can take care of everyone. Maybe we can, but I have my doubts. In cases where we fail, I think we should at least allow people the dignity of choosing their own exit. I don’t think it makes much difference whether their suffering comes from a disease of their body or a disease of society. In the short term, both can be inevitable and excruciating.
- jvanderbot 2y agoHow is a long walk in the woods not exactly 'meet their end alone and in poverty', given the shame that must motivate that? Also was this common? What cultures endorsed and regularly practiced this?
- cannonpr 2y agoDehydration, exposure, and animals will take you a lot faster than begging on the streets and trying to cling on to life or becoming a burden to your village. As far as historical examples just study Inuit, Greek, Japanese, Norwegian, or Scythian practices on the matter.
- svieira 2y agoTrue - we might also learn something from the Greek practice of exposure of infants and the Roman law regarding the rights of the pater familias. All three of them are examples of social failure to model the law of love in some manner.
- cannonpr 2y agoIt might teach you that reality is harsh and to face it.
- jvanderbot 2y agoWe have some control over that. That's the essence of being human, IMHO.
- mabster 2y agoMaybe we just try take the good and leave the bad when we borrow from previous societies?
- jncfhnb 2y agoGetting killed by animals is an idiotically painful way to die
- int_19h 2y agoBe careful because there's a lot of folk mythology on the subject that is pretty much entirely modern (specifically Romantic Nationalist) invention.
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- kayodelycaon 2y agoGiven how widespread funeral rites are, I kind of doubt this practice is common.
- A_D_E_P_T 2y agoIt fundamentally contravenes the Hippocratic Oath: > "Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. . . But I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art. . . > Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for my life and for my art; but if I transgress it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me." What's more, euthanasia leads to all sorts of perverse incentives in the administration of medicine, as Canada's MAID experiment demonstrates. It simply isn’t the job of doctors to end lives. It is, in fact, the precise opposite of their jobs -- and I believe you'll find that most doctors are opposed to legalizing euthanasia. Suffering can be alleviated, and it should be society's job to help patients -- the very word means "sufferers" -- seek care. Many drugs can be spectacularly effective. But today drug-seeking means that you'll be treated like a criminal, whereas there's no hurdle to MAID-seeking in Canada. A grim omen, that.
- nullindividual 2y ago> Suffering can be alleviated Lol. What world are you living in? Sure, I suppose if you give someone enough downers and obliterate their mind, suffering becomes a non-issue. Don't pretend this world can alleviate 'all suffering'. It's simply false.
- cannonpr 2y agoSo stop regulating the poisons and allow access via a non doctor path, create a framework around it, trying to give the state control over others bodies has just as many negative externalities. Also please try to keep in mind that the original oath was created during a certain eras morality and philosophical leanings, most doctors these days take severely modified oaths mostly to uphold current profesional practices and ethics.
- A_D_E_P_T 2y ago> So stop regulating the poisons Most of them, like nitrogen and helium gas, are not regulated. Besides, there are a hundred other ways that require no poisons at all. > trying to give the state control over others bodies Yet it's only proponents of euthanasia who demand state sanction. There's something extremely infantile and undignified about this. > most doctors these days take severely modified oaths mostly to uphold current profesional practices and ethics. So much the worse, it seems.
- throw7 2y agoAnimals seem to sense when time has come. I imagine, hopefully, sometime in the future, I'm going to be able to walk out into that wilderness. I think the difference is, I would never ask or require someone else to accompany or assist me.
- Teever 2y agoIt is so very different from parts of our history because we live in a part of the world where there is no good reason why anyone should die of starvation or homelessness. Canada is a country that is rich in every single resource from wood to metals, to hydrocarbons, wheat, meat, fruit... the list goes on and on and on. It is a disgrace and a fundamental failure of our society if people feel forced to take MAID to avoid dying on the street from exposure or starvation.
- danlugo92 2y ago> It is a disgrace and a fundamental failure of our society if people feel forced to take MAID to avoid dying on the street from exposure or starvation. I have a taxi driver cousin back in South America, wife but no kids. Want to take him in? He wants to emigrate. You could help him set up and such. You can dm me vyour phone number if necessary.
- Teever 2y agoWhat does this have to do with homelessness and MAID in Canada?