Life is precious, Life is sacred. That is what we are taught when we are young and that is what we are told when we grow old. Teachers and Preachers, both continue to harp on the value of life, the word sacrosanct is another word that is used with missionary zeal.
We as human beings can hardly tolerate dissent, we scoff when others seek equality or parity with us. We feel jealous if somebody accomplishes a feat in his / her life and humiliate those who show a lack of ambition or are unable to come up to our expectation. We pity those who are unable to compete. We laugh at others if they are different from us.
We remain oblivious to suffering of millions of people all around us and refuse to speak out when innocents suffer in silence. As adults, we fight and stand up for our right to decide what is good for us. Our right to choose is the most precious to us as individuals.
Yet, when someone gets the idea of ending life as a matter of choice or because he or she is unable to carry on for all practical purposes we cry foul. If an adult chooses to end his life and embrace death we judge the person of being incapable of making a decision or a choice. We will not come forward and help someone in need. Neither are we ready to allow people to take their life in their own hand and steer it as they wish. If that means someone decides to not carry on so be it.
I believe that every individual is the best judge as to what is good or bad for him or her. No matter what others might feel, every individual is the best person to decide whether their life is worth the effort or not. I remember a small piece that I read on Orkut. I would like to quote it below.
People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend.
Well before some of us get judgemental let us ponder over whether we would appreciate if someone else decided whether we should live or not. How would you react if someone told you that only he or she can decide whether you can continue to live or not? I would be shocked if I was told that I cannot decide whether I should live or not. The privilege to decide whether we should continue to live or not should be vested in an individual and under no circumstance should we take away this right from any individual.
The fact that we as people would do anything to defend our life should assure us that any individual would think a thousand times before deciding to end his or her life. Therefore if someone would like to end their life we should not stand in the way of them exercising their rights.
