On death
Every so often, I verbalize my thoughts on death and suicide, and the people who hear them tend to get very uncomfortable when I do, so I'm posting it here.
First off, I'm not going to kill myself. I would if I had the nerve, but I don't, and I no longer harbor any delusions about it. That said, I don't really fault anyone who does. I know it's an incredibly selfish thing to do, but we're all expected to live so much of our lives for other people that it seems you should get to do something for yourself. And you're going to die anyway, so how can anybody fault you for taking control of one aspect of your life?
And I've heard from two different people now that suicide is, and I quote, "a permanent solution to a temporary problem." What I don't understand is how is that a bad thing? Not only does it solve the problem, but it guarantees that it won't come back.
I also have a hard time viewing death as a punishment or in any way a bad thing. If it were, then only bad people would die. And capital punishment is a misnomer. Were it a real punishment, the criminal would survive to learn from it. It's simply a means of the state demonstrating to the remaining populace that it is still in control.
And a friend told me the other day that suicide is "illogical." I have to say, I kind of think that life sucks and that continuing to roam around the planet aimlessly is illogical. It's not like death is a detour. It's a destination. If someone wants to get there sooner, who am I to force the scenic route upon them? Because it's not that suicide is without reason. It's that she doesn't like the reasons.
This is all based on the belief that after life, there is nothing. Throwing in Heaven and Hell changes it up, obviously.
First off, I'm not going to kill myself. I would if I had the nerve, but I don't, and I no longer harbor any delusions about it. That said, I don't really fault anyone who does. I know it's an incredibly selfish thing to do, but we're all expected to live so much of our lives for other people that it seems you should get to do something for yourself. And you're going to die anyway, so how can anybody fault you for taking control of one aspect of your life?
And I've heard from two different people now that suicide is, and I quote, "a permanent solution to a temporary problem." What I don't understand is how is that a bad thing? Not only does it solve the problem, but it guarantees that it won't come back.
I also have a hard time viewing death as a punishment or in any way a bad thing. If it were, then only bad people would die. And capital punishment is a misnomer. Were it a real punishment, the criminal would survive to learn from it. It's simply a means of the state demonstrating to the remaining populace that it is still in control.
And a friend told me the other day that suicide is "illogical." I have to say, I kind of think that life sucks and that continuing to roam around the planet aimlessly is illogical. It's not like death is a detour. It's a destination. If someone wants to get there sooner, who am I to force the scenic route upon them? Because it's not that suicide is without reason. It's that she doesn't like the reasons.
This is all based on the belief that after life, there is nothing. Throwing in Heaven and Hell changes it up, obviously.