There comes a time when we know with particular reason and passion that the pleasure to be had from this moment forward will be less than the pain to be had from this moment forward. We know this is so, as we live within a genetically designed being of senescence (decay) which intentionally begins to cripple our bodily systems, especially after we may no longer procreate.
We are not immune to natural selection any more than other living creatures. The predators are different for each creature. As humans, our predators are not large; they are small, very small, but multiply quickly. As our systems begin to fail, however, the stronger and faster they become. One thing is certain: We cannot live forever.
To the extent we try to live forever, the more expensive we make it for ourselves and everyone else. There are expensive vitamins and supplements. There are doctor visits to remove melanomas from the skin. There are the cardiac stints. There are the radiation and chemical reagents against cancer. There are the keeping of human "vegetables" alive programs.
We are getting into very expensive life maintenance programs. We, as a society, are paying for these very expensive programs for more and more people who are living longer and longer. There is a reasonable balance, however, to be found between the cost of an individual to society and the value of an individual to society, as undemocratic as this may sound. Democracy does not always reflect the realities of natural selection.
We have the right, as individuals, to decide the correct time to die. So what if we miss it by a few weeks or months, or we disappoint a few family and friends? The fact is that to the extent we check out at the appropriate time, we save our survivors the ever-increasing cost of keeping us alive.
Whatever happened to the concept of "going out at the top of your game"? Whatever happened to the concept of individual responsibility?
No law should deny us our right to die.
