The Pratchett documentary continues to enthral me. It occurs to me to wonder why the man said nothing to his wife before he drank the lethal drink. As far as I recall, he didn’t even look at her. He just picked up the glass with no hint of either hesitation or urgency, while she looked into his face and stroked his fingers. I suppose everybody has their own way of dealing with things, and he was dealing with something the rest of us can hardly even imagine. Maybe they'd agreed to do it that way. Maybe they'd already said their goodbyes. Maybe they were that much in control. I don’t know and I never shall; it’s just one more little observation to put in the bag with the rest.
The other side of this picture came when I was sitting at my garden table having lunch. We’re enjoying a brief taste of summer at the moment and I was watching the kids on the playing field. It struck me how uplifting it is to see small children playing in the sunshine.
It’s all down to cycles, I suppose. Just a wheel that never stops turning.
6 comments:
The aspects you have described regarding this man's suicide also fascinate me: that he calmly drank tea beforehand and didn't say anything to his wife before he took the drug. For me it shows how different we all are from one another. I would be far too emotional to do it this way. In fact, I probably wouldn't do this at all as I'm more the type to be taken kicking and screaming from this life. I hope you're right about consciousness being immortal, by the way.
I had a weird thought, Della. Knowing this was the last cup of tea, I think I would have been calculating roughly how many I'd had in my life. The problem would have come with the question 'Are you sure?' You've got to pretty sure to say 'yes' to that one, haven't you?
I hope I'm right, too. But if I'm wrong, I take comfort from the fact that I'll never know.
I don't think i'd be able to calmly drink the stuff, or be like the wife and calmly sit by. I'd like to watch this documentary, but i'm not sure if i'd even be brave enough for that. There is an English woman, an author i like, who is a 'friend' of mine on Facebook and she put up a post about the doc with a link the day after you first mentioned it. Its a lot to think about.
Didn't Dr. Kavorkian (not sure how to spell it) just pass?
I have to say, i do think that if someone chooses to end their own suffering in this way that it is their right.
The man's wife was a classic example of a certain type of Englishwoman. She waited until he was asleep before showing any emotion. That sort of thing is bred into them from birth.
And I agree that a person has a right to choose their own death. The problem comes when a doctor has to decide who is legally 'entitled' to be helped, and who isn't. You're then into a very subjective area and there's a high price hanging on the decision either way.
I came to the documentary late and didn't pick up the name of the doctor. Maybe that was her. There was no mention in the end credits of her having died.
Dr. Kevorkian was a Dr who helped patients with "assisted suicides" and was imprisoned for several years because of it. He was a very controversial figure here in the US for a number of years. He died recently. I think he was from New York.
Ah, I see. Seems to me there's an interesting point of principle involved. Is it logical to regard assisted suicide as a form of homicide, since there's no innocent party as such? Is suicide still illegal in the US? I don't think it is here, but assistance is.
Anyway, I do admire people who are prepared to suffer for earnestly held beliefs whether I agree with those beliefs or not.
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