Refections, a question, and a survey...
Due to the incredible length of this entry, I've used a whole bunch of lj cuts for the reflection and survey.
Another thing I was thinking about other than abortion (a discussion which I am enjoying a great deal) is the whole "right to die" issue.
This issue came up recently in Florida with the whole Terri Schiavo case. Terri Schiavo (for those of you that aren't hopeless online news junkies like myself...I envy you) is a woman who suffered a great deal of brain damage because her heart stopped beating temporarily because of an eating disorder. This happened 10 years ago. She can breathe on her own, but she has to have a feeding tube because she can't swallow on her own. The whole situation is very complicated because of her estranged husband, since he wants the feeding tube taken out and her parents want the feeding tube in. There have been several court cases, including a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court that the law Jeb Bush signed to keep the feeding tube in was unconstitutional and the Supreme Court has come to the same conclusion just this past week. There's a whole lot more to the story I believe, and should you want to find out more, you need only do a search and you will find that Terri has her own website.
Mainly there's such a huge issue about this because Terri Schiavo didn't leave an written wish saying she wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents are hanging on because they believe she may still have a chance, while many doctors have informed them otherwise. They also say that her husband wants to remove the feeding tube so he can inherit Terri's estate and be free to marry another woman. Whether that's true, I don't know.
What I do know is that I believe in the right to die. I don't believe in assisted suicide. But if someone has no chance of coming out of a vegetative state, I thinkn it's a bit selfish to make someone continue to live that way. Taking away life support won't immediately kill them. Sometimes it does, sometimes they live for days, weeks, months, and from what I understand, even years. Some come out of their state. I believe in miracles. But one thing's for sure, I wouldn't want to live that way. I'd hate to be in a state like that. I can understand the grief of the families, but I still think it's a bit selfish to hold on like that. Maybe it isn't. I don't know. I guess it depends on the situation. As for who should have the last decision as to whether life support is removed, the spouse, parents, whoever, depending on the situation, I don't know. I think that they should let Terri go. I don't see removal of life support as murder.
About a year or two ago, a dear friend of the family passed away. His wife took care of me when I was little. She's like another mother or grandmother to me. He was probably the closest thing to a grandfather I had ever had. I never knew my maternal grandfather and my paternal grandfather died when I was 9. But I digress. He had a condition in which he had to stay on oxygen for the rest of his life. He had worked on the rail road and the silicon dust there destroyed his lungs. After he died, his wife tried to remember what was different that night he died. She finally remembered that that night he didn't turn his oxygen machine on. My mom told me about this and it troubled me because it was as if he had committed suicide to me at first. And my mom said, "No, he just let the disease take it's course." I thought she was right. To deliberately take your life is one thing I think. To let a disease you have take it's course is another.
BODY:
[name:] Elisa
[sign:] Aquarius (now is the dawning of the age after all)
[longest relationship:] 1 year, 10 months, 9 days and still counting :-)
[ever had a long distance relationship:] nope. this is my only relationship
[do you have faith in long distance relationships:] I've seen a successful one, several really, so yes I do.
[ever been on a blind date:] nope
[ever dated more than one person at a time:] nope, don't plan to
[ever have "friends with benefits":] Why would I want to?
[what attracts you to a person:] values, personality, sense of humor, sense of compassion
[average age you get involved with:] well, this is the only relationship I've been in so....
[have relationships changed you:] they have
[have your relationships been worthwhile:] absolutely. It still is.
[where do you normally meet people for dating or relationships:] I guess school.
[would you ever get married:] not tomorrow, but in God's good time, yes.
[key to a successful relationship:] trust, love, respect, and God, especially the last one.
DO YOU:
[Wear boxers or briefs?] neither?
[Wear panties or thongs?] set the scene, have we been drinking? Kidding. regular undies for me.
[Have a favorite shirt?] oh, there's too much to choose from.
[Have a favorite Cologne/Perfume?] I like the smell of sweet pea from Bath and Body works. And vanilla. Does that count?
[Have Tattoos?] no
[Have Piercings?] ears (ditto)
[What you are wearing now?] clothes
[Have favorite movies?] Big Fish, Pirates of the Carribean, and more recently the Phantom of the Opera
[Have something you're looking forward to in the upcoming month?] Valentines day, several birthdays
[Have something that you are deathly afraid of?] being raped and spiders
[Do you believe in love?] very much
[Do you believe in soul mates?] It's a lie. Relationships take work because everyone has their differences. (agreed) (I agree with the statement that they take work, but I'm not sure. I wonder if God has a person he wants us to marry)
[Do you believe in love at first sight?] *smiles* perhaps it's possible, but it didn't happen in my case.
[Do you believe in Heaven?] I do.
[Do you believe in God?] I can't believe otherwise.
HAVE YOU EVER:
[Killed someone:] No, but to be on the safe side, don't look in my trunk. (joke)
[Gotten Drunk:] no.
[Talked on the phone for over 3 hours:] many times
[Left the country:] Twice
[Stolen something:] That was an accident.
[Caught something on fire:] close. I burned my blankie on a reading lamp :-( poor blankie
[Wanted to cheat on someone:] No. I sooner hurt myself.
[Asked someone out:] I asked someone to prom...he asked me three days later.
[Had a dream, then the next day it happened:] Not that I remember
LAST PERSON:
[You Talked to in person:] my aunt
[You tallked to on the phone:] my mom
ARE YOU:
[Interesting:] depends on who you ask I guess. I've been told as much.
[Smart:] Mama didn't raise no fool
[Moody:] sometimes as the day is long.
[Attractive:] I've been told as much. :-) There's always room for improvement.
[Bore Easily:] I don't think so.
[Controlling:] depends. Some things I am very controlling about, others...to each their own
[Sad:] No, not really anymore. Happiness is a choice. That's what I think.
[Happy:] I am. :-D *big smile*
[Trusting:] I'm always willing to give someone the BOTD. I don't know if I'd trust a complete stranger, but my friends, my family, my love, I trust very much.
[Talkative:] Depends on who I'm with
[Reliable:] Yeah, I think so.
[Lonely:] Sometimes...that's life.
My question is this: can any of you tell me about an iPod shuffler and should I get one?
hope everyone is having a good evening.
Another thing I was thinking about other than abortion (a discussion which I am enjoying a great deal) is the whole "right to die" issue.
This issue came up recently in Florida with the whole Terri Schiavo case. Terri Schiavo (for those of you that aren't hopeless online news junkies like myself...I envy you) is a woman who suffered a great deal of brain damage because her heart stopped beating temporarily because of an eating disorder. This happened 10 years ago. She can breathe on her own, but she has to have a feeding tube because she can't swallow on her own. The whole situation is very complicated because of her estranged husband, since he wants the feeding tube taken out and her parents want the feeding tube in. There have been several court cases, including a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court that the law Jeb Bush signed to keep the feeding tube in was unconstitutional and the Supreme Court has come to the same conclusion just this past week. There's a whole lot more to the story I believe, and should you want to find out more, you need only do a search and you will find that Terri has her own website.
Mainly there's such a huge issue about this because Terri Schiavo didn't leave an written wish saying she wouldn't want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents are hanging on because they believe she may still have a chance, while many doctors have informed them otherwise. They also say that her husband wants to remove the feeding tube so he can inherit Terri's estate and be free to marry another woman. Whether that's true, I don't know.
What I do know is that I believe in the right to die. I don't believe in assisted suicide. But if someone has no chance of coming out of a vegetative state, I thinkn it's a bit selfish to make someone continue to live that way. Taking away life support won't immediately kill them. Sometimes it does, sometimes they live for days, weeks, months, and from what I understand, even years. Some come out of their state. I believe in miracles. But one thing's for sure, I wouldn't want to live that way. I'd hate to be in a state like that. I can understand the grief of the families, but I still think it's a bit selfish to hold on like that. Maybe it isn't. I don't know. I guess it depends on the situation. As for who should have the last decision as to whether life support is removed, the spouse, parents, whoever, depending on the situation, I don't know. I think that they should let Terri go. I don't see removal of life support as murder.
About a year or two ago, a dear friend of the family passed away. His wife took care of me when I was little. She's like another mother or grandmother to me. He was probably the closest thing to a grandfather I had ever had. I never knew my maternal grandfather and my paternal grandfather died when I was 9. But I digress. He had a condition in which he had to stay on oxygen for the rest of his life. He had worked on the rail road and the silicon dust there destroyed his lungs. After he died, his wife tried to remember what was different that night he died. She finally remembered that that night he didn't turn his oxygen machine on. My mom told me about this and it troubled me because it was as if he had committed suicide to me at first. And my mom said, "No, he just let the disease take it's course." I thought she was right. To deliberately take your life is one thing I think. To let a disease you have take it's course is another.
BODY:
[name:] Elisa
[sign:] Aquarius (now is the dawning of the age after all)
[longest relationship:] 1 year, 10 months, 9 days and still counting :-)
[ever had a long distance relationship:] nope. this is my only relationship
[do you have faith in long distance relationships:] I've seen a successful one, several really, so yes I do.
[ever been on a blind date:] nope
[ever dated more than one person at a time:] nope, don't plan to
[ever have "friends with benefits":] Why would I want to?
[what attracts you to a person:] values, personality, sense of humor, sense of compassion
[average age you get involved with:] well, this is the only relationship I've been in so....
[have relationships changed you:] they have
[have your relationships been worthwhile:] absolutely. It still is.
[where do you normally meet people for dating or relationships:] I guess school.
[would you ever get married:] not tomorrow, but in God's good time, yes.
[key to a successful relationship:] trust, love, respect, and God, especially the last one.
DO YOU:
[Wear boxers or briefs?] neither?
[Wear panties or thongs?] set the scene, have we been drinking? Kidding. regular undies for me.
[Have a favorite shirt?] oh, there's too much to choose from.
[Have a favorite Cologne/Perfume?] I like the smell of sweet pea from Bath and Body works. And vanilla. Does that count?
[Have Tattoos?] no
[Have Piercings?] ears (ditto)
[What you are wearing now?] clothes
[Have favorite movies?] Big Fish, Pirates of the Carribean, and more recently the Phantom of the Opera
[Have something you're looking forward to in the upcoming month?] Valentines day, several birthdays
[Have something that you are deathly afraid of?] being raped and spiders
[Do you believe in love?] very much
[Do you believe in soul mates?] It's a lie. Relationships take work because everyone has their differences. (agreed) (I agree with the statement that they take work, but I'm not sure. I wonder if God has a person he wants us to marry)
[Do you believe in love at first sight?] *smiles* perhaps it's possible, but it didn't happen in my case.
[Do you believe in Heaven?] I do.
[Do you believe in God?] I can't believe otherwise.
HAVE YOU EVER:
[Killed someone:] No, but to be on the safe side, don't look in my trunk. (joke)
[Gotten Drunk:] no.
[Talked on the phone for over 3 hours:] many times
[Left the country:] Twice
[Stolen something:] That was an accident.
[Caught something on fire:] close. I burned my blankie on a reading lamp :-( poor blankie
[Wanted to cheat on someone:] No. I sooner hurt myself.
[Asked someone out:] I asked someone to prom...he asked me three days later.
[Had a dream, then the next day it happened:] Not that I remember
LAST PERSON:
[You Talked to in person:] my aunt
[You tallked to on the phone:] my mom
ARE YOU:
[Interesting:] depends on who you ask I guess. I've been told as much.
[Smart:] Mama didn't raise no fool
[Moody:] sometimes as the day is long.
[Attractive:] I've been told as much. :-) There's always room for improvement.
[Bore Easily:] I don't think so.
[Controlling:] depends. Some things I am very controlling about, others...to each their own
[Sad:] No, not really anymore. Happiness is a choice. That's what I think.
[Happy:] I am. :-D *big smile*
[Trusting:] I'm always willing to give someone the BOTD. I don't know if I'd trust a complete stranger, but my friends, my family, my love, I trust very much.
[Talkative:] Depends on who I'm with
[Reliable:] Yeah, I think so.
[Lonely:] Sometimes...that's life.
My question is this: can any of you tell me about an iPod shuffler and should I get one?
hope everyone is having a good evening.