Requiem for Terri Schiavo

There is so much pain in the world, so little joy. So much good will in the heart of man, so little expression. We are the sum of human anguish searching vainly for relief. We want so much to end the suffering yet we cannot find the means.

As a member of the human species, I share the profound sorrow surrounding the case of Terri Schiavo but I cannot help but wonder what great good might be done if some fraction of all this attention were directed toward the homeless, the dispossessed, the oppressed and suffering masses in the Congo, Haiti, Sudan, Iraq and elsewhere.

In the recent tsunami disaster, we have seen the power of compassion to move the immovable mountains of indifference. There is so much more yet to be done. The world is crowded with unfortunate souls whose cries of anguish are never heard, yet the anguish of a nation is focused on one unfortunate soul who is tragically unable to speak.

I am not familiar with the details of the Terri Schiavo case nor do I wish to be. I learned all that I needed to know in the initial report: A once vibrant, thriving, energetic young woman was suddenly transformed into a person incapable of higher functions. Her senses remain intact. She seems to smile and perhaps registers basic emotions.

I fully understand how her parents are moved to defend her life. I fully understand her husband’s conviction that it was not her desire to live in this manner. In the absence of a clear and concise statement from the afflicted, I understand the necessity of medical personnel deciding the viability of her life. I understand the necessity of the courts deciding who must lawfully speak for one who can no longer speak for herself.

Here is where my understanding ends for I do not understand how it is the role of government (beyond the court) to decide how and when an individual must live or die. I do not understand why the choice is between sustaining life and ending it by deprivation, thirst and starvation. Surely a more enlightened society would offer a less offensive alternative.

Ultimately, the Terri Schiavo case is a potent reminder to each of us that it is our solemn responsibility to declare in no uncertain terms our convictions and desires regarding living and dying under conditions that compromise quality of life.

It is a question that should not be trusted to any court and does not belong in any legislative chamber. It is a matter of conscience. It is as purely a question of faith as any we will ever encounter.

For me, the proposition is as clear as the underlying kindness of human nature: If I am unable to generate language, to communicate ideas and thoughts in a cohesive, comprehensible form, even to convey my desire to live or die, then my life is no longer worth sustaining.

If my conception of life and death is accurate, however unlikely that or any other belief regarding the same may be, I cannot conceive a more horrific fate than to be condemned to a prolonged life confined to a body incapable of basic functions with a mind incapable of higher thought.

If this is how Terri Schiavo felt or feels beneath the surface of her external appearance, then the last fifteen years have been cruel almost beyond belief and her suffering can only end when she is released from this world, this life and this conscious existence.

If, however, she truly desires to go on living then her parents are doing the right thing, the only thing they can do for the child they love. I just wish she could express that desire if only by a wink or a nod.

In the end, Terri Schiavo’s gift to us all is that we need not live out her nightmare. While we are still able, it is imperative that we express our desires and beliefs on this subject in the most explicit terms.

Let this declaration stand for me. For while I have neither the time nor the disposition to consult a lawyer on a living will, I have nevertheless made my beliefs and intentions clear. If my life should ever be prolonged against these intentions, the cruelty will be equally clear.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS).