Euthanasium

From the all too real Japanese 'Seppuku' ritual to the futuristic 'Suicide Booth' Futurama fans learned about in the very first episode of the series, suicide always was a hot topic that leaves almost no one indifferent. Suicide is seen, after all, as murder's lil' sister.

The rituals surrounding someone's death are not news. We humans give the death of other beings significance. It is a way for us to express, to channel out our deepest when pitted at the hardest fact of life: it ends. Failing to grasp what it is to be no more, humans pictured it glorious and even made up stories and Gods, so we do not feel so bad about it. Dead people are most of the time way greater than they were when alive.

I, for one, chose a long time ago to focus on my life instead of my death. To the question "Is life worth it?", my answer is "Only if I can make it worth living.". It is my own responsibility to give my existence meanings. If I were to let others do that, I would be, I believe, powerless and living a lie. What if I cannot make my life worth living anymore?

Suffering happens. Inner agony. Detachment. The reasons for an individual to lose interest in the pursuit of life are too numerous and personal to start listing them here. Since it is my opinion that nobody should endure suffering they do not consent to, I consider suicide as a worthy and natural choice.

"Oh", some will say, "you have no heart, no soul! What about those left behind to mourn?". First, one day or the other, every human dies. If you happen to know them, chances are you will mourn them anyway. Also, if you love them and you have just a bit of common sense, how can you be so egoist, to rather have them living in pain for your own comfort?

What I do not agree with is, people committing suicide in their homes, where their family will have to cope with the gruesome sight and removal of the mortal remains. It is a cruel thing to do. It has potential life shattering consequences. Go ahead, people, end your own life if you think it is best for you. Please, help the others keep going. You feel like having a revenge? Write a mean letter to them, it will do more than enough.

What I do not agree with, also, is that so many people have not the means to commit suicide in a clean, sure way. Physicians and nurses are forbidden to assist suicide and many countries forbid it to all. Short of options, many suicides involve social costs statistics cannot cover. A policeman once told me that many accidents were in fact suicides. Car accident with no skid marks leading to frontal collision with either a solid landmark or an incoming truck is the most common plausible scenario.

The movie 'Soylent Green' features what I would call an Euthanasium, a place where a human being could end one's life with as much dignity and comfort as possible. What prevents us from offering such an option to everyone? Possible mistakes? Abuses? They happen anyway with everything else we have invented, including religion. The only reason I can see that prevents us to fully embrace death as a part of life is our own immaturity, our teenish dream to live forever.