The blogs and the media are reaching the saturation point on the Terri Schiavo story. How can this not be a big story? Someone is being put to death in slow motion. I feel like we are all standing around a swimming pool and watching a child drown … and analyzing the drowning and discussing the ethical and legal issues involved in diving in to save the child. This is a surreal moment in our nation. How can this be America?
It is difficult to not be frustrated out of your mind daily. I think I will scream if I have to listen to Michael Schaivo's lawyer wax on about how Michael is a caring and nurturing husband and is fulfilling his beloved wife's wishes. I am angry and exhausted and want to withdraw and give my sanity a rest.
As easy as it would be to do that, it would be wrong.
We are not called to do the easy thing, are we? We are called to be like the men of Issachar.
1 Chronicles 12:32: "men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do"
If you have read Nancy Pearcy's amazing book, Total Truth, you know all about the two story view of reality (originally articulated by Francis Schaeffer). As Christians, we find ourselves imprisoned in the upper story of private belief … while the public discourse takes place in the lower story of rationality and facts … with no input from us.
When we try to get out of the upper story, we get shoved right back in with comments like … "those are just your religious views." How many times have you heard that in the last two weeks in regards to this case? Sadly, the effect of the withdrawal of the Christian mind from culture is now coming to roost.
So how can we be like the men of Issachar in the case of Terri Schiavo? What does the story of Terri Schiavo indicate about the times in which we live?
One, this sad affair shows how far down the path of ethical relativism we have traversed in this culture. Where are all the "values voters" we thought existed in this country? The recent Gallup polls show virtually no difference between "church" folks and secular folks. The majority, in either case, say put Terri to death ... excuse me, allow her to die.
Friends, the moral reasoning in this case is simple. Are the legal issues complicated? You bet, but not the moral ones. For a terrific bit of moral reasoning, please read Robert George's interview at NRO.* The money quote is : "Our governing principle should be always to care, never to kill."
I can't help but think of some dear friends of ours. Their youngest son has cerebral palsy. They feed him everyday … through a tube. He lays there on the ground in a twisted body as his siblings play around him. He is unable to speak clearly. All he can do is smile, which he does often and with which he lights up a room.
My friends love their son dearly and have chosen to care for him. But what if they didn't? Here is a thought experiment. What if one day they woke up and decided … that's it. I have had it. This life is no fun. I don’t want this burden. I have a right to personal peace and happiness. Caring for a severely disabled child is too much of a burden. I want out. They then acted on that feeling and stopped feeding their disabled son through the tube. In one week, he dies of dehydration.
Would it be wrong? Why or why not? Try answering that in a world without God and your moral guiding principle as "maximize your pleasure while hurting as few people as possible".
In a utilitarian world, is it not logical for parents to terminate their unwanted children under "the greatest good for the greatest number" principle? It is two against one, right? Who would want to have cerebral palsy and lay on the ground and eat through a tube anyway, right? What a lousy life … if he could talk, he would probably say just end it … right? Just think of how much joy the parents could bring the other siblings if they didn't have to lug that wheelchair around … or spend all that money on a special van for the disabled. It is four against one, not just two against one … because the other siblings would have more pleasure too if mom and dad didn't have to focus on this one needy child so much. More trips to Disneyworld … better colleges … a better life for four out five members of the family, right? It is just a cost / benefit thing … right?
Robert George says in his NRO interview,
"What we must avoid, always and everywhere, is yielding to the temptation to regard some human lives, or the lives of human beings in certain conditions, as lebensunwerten Lebens, lives unworthy of life. Since the life of every human being has inherent worth and dignity, there is no valid category of lebensunwerten Lebens. Any society that supposes that there is such a category has deeply morally compromised itself."
Lives *unworthy* of life. I believe our culture has yielded to that temptation … and it will only get worse. The definition of "worthy of life" is very elastic. Do you think it will change over time? I do. What direction will it change? What has history taught us?
The final thing this sad story has taught me is just how pervasive the "it is all about me" attitude controls our culture. The discussion is rarely about duty, virtue, unselfishness, self-sacrifice, service etc. Friends, we start out needy in life and we end up needy. As I like to tell my kids, we start out life in diapers and we end life in diapers. This is by design. Caring for others is one important component in drawing each of us out of our self-absorption. A decision like ending your life affects more than just you. The family of Terri Schiavo is being deprived of the blessing of being able to care for her. I realize that is hard to understand. But people are actually blessed by serving and having to be unselfish. Our narcissistic culture does not get this … including, sadly, many who call themselves religious.
All of life is infused with meaning. Terri's life has meaning. Her death, which appears likely now, will be infused with meaning too. I can't help but wonder if this woman, her family, and the injustice we are all watching in real time will awaken Christians out of their blissful slumber up in the upper story. The polls indicate not ... but I just wonder.
Friends, it is time to wake up, become like the men of Issachar, and go public with your worldview. It is serious times in which we live. Serious times demand serious lives.
* for incisive ethical reasoning on end of life situations, see Melinda Penner's post