Monday
March 21, 2005
HAS CONGRESS LOST ITS WAY?: I'm beginning to wonder.
Consider that in just the
past few years we've been treated to legislation dictating to
us what is and what is not to be considered political speech and
what is and what is not to be considered "decent" and
"indecent" material for consumption over the airwaves.
Last week
we watched members of Congress devote their time and energy to
examining the chemical intake of certain professional athletes
and justifying it under the guise of an archaic anti-trust exemption.
This past
weekend we saw members of Congress, displeased by the ruling of
a Florida state judge, marshall the resources of the federal government
to pass legislation intervening in an individual case involving
the right of a family to make decisions about one of its members.
Understand
this: I feel an enormous sadness for Terri Schiavo and the situation
her family is in. I don't know whether the husband is telling
the truth when he says this is what Terri said she wanted or whether
he really is the monster some have made him out to be.
What I do
know is that it's dismaying to watch members of Congress set a
precedent in this case that is as dangerous as it is offensive.
If people want to use the Schiavo case as the launching pad for
a crusade to change the right-to-die laws in this country, may
God bless them with quick and total success.
But to I
had no idea creating a "culture of life" meant jettisoning
some of the core principles of conservatism like demanding a smaller,
less intrusive federal government. Call me naive, but I thought
it meant using the power of argument and persuasion to change
public opinion (and thus eventually legislation), not writing
and ramming through federal bills on a moment's notice designed
to not only muscle in on, but essentially to take sides in a specific
case dealing with one of the most intimate of family matters.
What happens
if and when the federal judge rules in favor of the husband? What
will our elected leaders do next? How many hundreds of other terribly
tragic circumstances exist in America that our Congress may now
feel empowered and encouraged to examine and perhaps to intervene?
It's only
fair to acknowledge that the Schiavo case is unique, complex,
and deeply emotional. But it's also fair to wonder whether Congress,
in a rush to demonstrate compassion for a person trapped in a
tragic situation, has overstepped its bounds and set what could
end up being a rather disastrous precedent.
TIMELY
FICTION: As I said, I do feel terribly sad for Terri
Schiavo and for the entire family. I think we kid ourselves if
we think making decisions about someone's "quality of life"
isn't well above our mortal pay grade. We simply don't know.
Years ago
I wrote a piece of short fiction on a very similar topic. It was
about a young man who lived a perfectly happy life for years,
only to have it taken away by those who could not possibly have
known that it even existed at all - or how much it meant to the
man.
I don't
have the faintest clue what inspired the idea, but it seems quite
timely now. It was never published (or even edited properly) but
if you're so inclined you can take
five minutes and read it here. - T. Bevan 2:32 pm
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