Are We Back in the Summer of the Shark?
In his MSNBC column, Glenn Reynolds wonders if the Terri Schiavo story is the most recent iteration of the "summer of the shark" phenomenon, in which the media cycle latches on to compelling but ultimately trivial story (in 2001 it was the supposed wave of shark attacks) and runs with it constantly, ignoring stories that are of real consequence but are difficult to explain and seem boring.
It's not that I entirely disagree. I'll gladly concede that, from the point of view of the survival of the Republic over time, the fate of one woman, even an unjustly killed woman, of Terri qua Terri, does not matter a great deal. Human history will doubtless forget Terri Schiavo, and will remember of 2005 the wars, the social programs that were or were not reformed, and the like - the deeds of great men and nations. If you don't believe, say, that God will judge you with regard to what you do or don't do with regard to this case, I can see why the whole thing could seem like a massive waste of everyone's time.
But I don't think this is just a case about one woman in Florida. Just under the surface are a series of meaningful social, political and civilizational debates, the resolution to which is at least as important as the issue of whether or not we reform Social Security to include personal retirement accounts. It's about what Mickey Kaus described as the "disingenuous machinery of euthanasia":
How we answer these questions will have a profound impact on the kind of civilization we become. Our descendants may little note, nor long remember who Terri Schiavo was, but how we resolve the questions her case poses will profoundly affect them and the world in which they live, far more than the movement of carrier groups or the rearranging of public pensions.
Compared to the responsibilities facing Congress -- a war, a budget deficit, Social Security reform, and more -- the Schiavo case isn't very important.You won't be surprised to discover that I disagree.
It's not that I entirely disagree. I'll gladly concede that, from the point of view of the survival of the Republic over time, the fate of one woman, even an unjustly killed woman, of Terri qua Terri, does not matter a great deal. Human history will doubtless forget Terri Schiavo, and will remember of 2005 the wars, the social programs that were or were not reformed, and the like - the deeds of great men and nations. If you don't believe, say, that God will judge you with regard to what you do or don't do with regard to this case, I can see why the whole thing could seem like a massive waste of everyone's time.
But I don't think this is just a case about one woman in Florida. Just under the surface are a series of meaningful social, political and civilizational debates, the resolution to which is at least as important as the issue of whether or not we reform Social Security to include personal retirement accounts. It's about what Mickey Kaus described as the "disingenuous machinery of euthanasia":
Opposition to the Florida court's ruling seems like a legitimate protest against what appears to be a disingenuous machinery of euthanasia lawyers are busy establishing under the guise of a "right to die" (a right Terry Schiavo can only be said to be exercising by an extremely suspect chain of reasoning). ... Our society is going to have to have this out at some point--why not now? And why isn't it a perfectly reasonable issue for the national legislature to address?Question of how we treat the dying and the severely disabled - should we allow euthanasia? Active or passive? Voluntary or involuntary? - ultimately implicate much deeper questions about what it means to be human, and a person, (and if those are separable things). Are we just our cerebral cortices? Does human freedom include the freedom to obliterate one's self? Is human dignity an inherent or an accidental characteristic? Is death preferable to a life full of suffering? To a life of severe, and perhaps humiliating disability? What duties do the strong owe the weak?
How we answer these questions will have a profound impact on the kind of civilization we become. Our descendants may little note, nor long remember who Terri Schiavo was, but how we resolve the questions her case poses will profoundly affect them and the world in which they live, far more than the movement of carrier groups or the rearranging of public pensions.
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