Dear Editor,
David Kaeini writes, in 581 rambling words, another epistle (Letters, April 16) filled with his most mundane, meaningless, myopic, mean-spirited, misguided, mendacious, mediocre and mindless mutterings and mumblings.
Consider his latest thoughts:
1. “… the liberal pro-death movement and the ACLU attorneys were cooking this one up (Death With Dignity Bill) and just waiting for the right opportunity to throw it in our faces.” Remember Jack Kevorkian, Mr. Kaeini? Each individual he assisted to die was as much a poster child for death with dignity as Terri Schiavo. Prolonged suffering and unending pain need no special recognition for legislation offering an end to such – only individuals who respect and act upon the wishes of those afflicted no matter the outcome.
2. “There’s no doubt … these groups (liberal pro-death movement and the ACLU) were the ones behind the killing of Terri Schiavo … ” Killing? What was “killed,” Mr. Kaeini? A body that for 15 years had no person inside! A body unable to share the basic joys and sorrows, dreams and decisions, laughter and tears the living experience! When there’s no one home, Mr. Kaeini, there’s no killing – only closure.
3. “That so-called husband …” Michael and Terri were legally married. To his high credit, Michael stood with/for that which remained of his wife throughout the long years. Who authorized you to judge him with your scorn based on only personal arrogance and ignorance?
4. “Terri’s life is … about the killing of a healthy person whose life some regarded as worthless.” Healthy? How? Didn’t the images, the medical diagnoses and common sense reality show you Terri Schiavo was not “a healthy person?” Healthy requires both body and mind sharing life. Schiavo’s mind was gone and her body, after so many years, only a whimper of what once was. It wasn’t her life some may have regarded as worthless, Mr. Kaeini, only the ruined remains within which she no longer remained.
5. “… we have a basic obligation to preserve our own life.” Says who? You? Your religious leaders? One basic quality individuals have is choice – be it a daily decision to live or a final decision to die. If suicide is beyond one’s courage, there will always be a Kevorkian, or a Death With Dignity Bill, to provide the strength and action(s) necessary. That decision is personal and not based on your piety nor your morality.
6. “The better solution is to appoint a health care proxy” – as opposed to a living will. Nonsense! A health care proxy is not a “better solution” for three reasons: A) the one chosen might be inaccessible at the time for a needed decision; B) the person might themselves die when decisions are needed; C) that person may make decisions based on their beliefs rather than respecting the stated wishes of the person unable to speak for “self.”
Your Bible says: Judge not, lest ye be judged, Mr. Kaeini. Your bitterness and self-righteous nonsense let readers judge your value. What do you think such judgment must be?
James Brescoll, Gilroy
