The Law, Moral Judgement & Your Life: When Push Comes To Shove, What Do You Really Value When The State Gets In The Way?
midnightfreemasons.org
It is actually the case that the medical profession in this country refuses to recognise it's existence despite the fact that many people we have come across along our journey are suffers themselves.
This topic is far too emotional, broad and important to attempt to really tackle in a Friday night post but I wanted to raise it as context for my most recent meandering thoughts.
Next week we are going to a medical practitioner for what is labelled as "experimental" treatment at great cost. We are lucky to have found this MD as this service is not widely offered, especially in Australia and what's more we're fortunate to be able to afford it.
The horror I've had to endure watching the permanent... and I mean permanent... agony of a loved one is something that can't be adequately communicated using language and it got me thinking of what extents people would go to for the really important issues in life.
So... what if the solution to a major health issue or the way to otherwise secure the well being of yourself or someone you love came via breaking the law or came at the cost of someone else? Would stealing money to pay for a necessary surgery be a bad or a good thing? Does your answer change based on who the money is stolen from? Maybe. A little granny would miss the money more than corrupt banking institution (who probably stole it from the granny in the first place).
Would you act to protect your family? What would that say about you? Maybe that'd make you noble, to position yourself against any obstacle that impedes the well being of those you treasure. Maybe it'd make you immoral, compromising on standards because you see a need to.
These are all somewhat academic questions when sitting at home looking at a computer monitor and the answers are likely to seem black and white to some extent. Having seen real suffering however, my answers may not be that palatable.
I don't think I'm all that different to anyone else in this regard. Necessity makes for unconventional actions and, personally, I'd be a shadow of a man to allow the state to impose restrictions on my loved ones ability to free themselves of pain.
See we're not geared to making such decisions in day to day life. We blindly for the most part follow the rules imposed by the state thinking that laws and morals are synonymously (stupidly in my opinion). We all must have our line however.
Take "the walking dead" for example. A hypothetical but a good example of how the civility of structured society breaks down given certain circumstances.
Cannabis is a good example too. A well established mood improving and pain reducing agent that is not legal to own or use. Should good people suffer in agony to appease the state?
What about euthanasia? I watched my grandmother's body fail while her mind remained sharp. I recall vividly her saying to me when in palliative care "I only hope that when you get to this stage you will have more choices than I have". How does your heart not crumble at that?
The state is arguably the poorest benchmark for what is moral and good. Why are we so willing to accept it as the arbiter of such? This is a topic close to my heart and I only want to provoke dispassionate thought among the community.
Would breaking the law or cheating another be justified in some scenarios? Are our loved ones more entitled than the guy in the street?
Thanks, as always, for your interest and I look forward to your (varied I'm sure) comments!
Your post reminded me of an article I read about an elderly lady growing cannabis in my country (it's illegal here) to help her friends who need it for their pain and various ailments. It makes me so sick that a woman could be imprisoned for growing a plant. I definitely think that there are instances where breaking the law is the moral choice to make, and often a choice that many of us are not brave enough to make.
Great contribution @catonwheels. I just read your reply to my wife and we were nodding and saying yep, yep, yep as we made our way through what you'd written. I couldn't have said it better myself.
I'm sorry to hear about the pain you're both/all being forced to endure. I've been ignoring the cannabis laws for most of my life. It's saved me pain and ill health. I have relatives who would rather die and suffer than take drugs so I see both sides but really, the only law has to be Do No Harm.
I'm speachless (keyboardless?) with how much I'm resonating with the comments here @paddlesteemer; yours in particular. Thank you for your honesty about cannabis and well done for choosing the path of what some call a victimless crime. @dollarvigilante and others like him assert that victimless crimes simply aren't crimes. You have only acted to ease a difficult set of circumstances.
Thank you for being so broad-minded. I can only agree with @dollarvigilante, too. Fortunately, awareness of these inconsistencies is growing, as evidenced by your many supportive replies. I've followed you. You are my third follow - I'm discerning.
An interesting post for sure. Lyme disease has its nay-sayers that is for sure. I have no real opinion on the matter as I don't know anyone who is a sufferer and have done no research on the matter.
As for medicinal cannabis and euthanasia, these two topics I do feel strongly about. Life is a choice and so is the medicine you take, so why not have these 2 options for people who are suffering. As my father always tells me, if he starts suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's, then direct him into traffic on the nearest highway to ease his suffering. Probably not a choice I could make, however, euthanasia should be an option in this country.
I also agree @scooter77. Like you say, it's about personal options and that really crystallises when you see a loved one robbed of choice to their detriment.
And I totally understand that euthanasia needs to be considered so as not to be abused but that's a social issue not a legal one in my mind. My grandmother never spoke of the issue during her life until the time that it became personally important to her. She was a proud woman and felt herself robbed of dignity. She handled her circumstances with grace but they weren't ideal and they were dictated by some pencil pusher she'd never met. How evolved really are we?
Well said Scooter. I agree with you.
Where i live; people are sooo close minded you just can not get through to them there Minds are stuck in a Box..... They can not think outside of it ..
Hey @primal-buddhist. Are you in a western area? It's mind blowing to observe isn't it. That's where I find the Steemit community helpful.
Eastern U.S.
Interesting. Your username is a clue!
The medical-industrial complex is a racket.
Wasn't there something on zerohedge recently about a reported cancer cure being priced at nearly half a mil (presumable per treatment?)
When will this end?
fuck the usa. civil war
HA! Your spicey visuals blew my face off @lovelygirl. Thanks!
I am sorry to hear about your wife's suffering and yours as well. I think our culture is very much into black and white answers about what it right and wrong. It likes to control, define, and judge from a narrow perspective. If we really trusted in the autonomy and liberty of the individual, things would be much different. Peace
Hi @clumsysilverdad and thanks so much for taking the time to contribute. We've found the pigeon hole scenario is firmly in place in our psyche. If you have a broken arm people know what that is, they identify the remedy and they have a firm grasp of your limitations until it's healed and how long the healing is likely to take. All nice and neat.
With the out of the box suffers, and Lyme is a great example, people don't know how to respond. This has no cure at late stages yet all people can muster is a "get well soon" statement; even those who we've told repeatedly about the lack of possibility for getting well. It's infuriating really sometimes as it dangles a carrot of wellness that we'll never know but that's not through malice, people are just in the general case myopic & compliant.
Thank you for your compassion, it's warmly received and it's comforting just to know that others share our views on being able to freely navigate the bad seas they find themselves in.
Very denger pic
Have to grab attention!
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