At the age of 80, I have the good fortune of being able to look at the past and envision the future knowing the ups and downs of what the past brought. It is a daily blessing to see, hear and experience the growth of offspring sons, a daughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Their challenges of everyday life bring back living experiences of my own life as they were for my parents.
With age, we continually encounter new challenges and as with all human challenges, dealing with them requires a focus on human dignity while leaving out the phase, “I can’t do it.” It goes without saying, human life cannot deny, forego or avoid the hard moments. Inevitably that eternal spirit of hope from within tells us these hardships have their purpose and will not last forever. The human spirit deals with them, whether they are mental, physical or emotional struggles. The result, with self-discipline and endurance, we emerge a stronger person with a renewed spirit about life and love.
The strengths of the past aid us in dealing with diminished independence, the slowing of pace and muscles that complain with aches and pain. Perhaps we cannot throw those bales of hay or write computer programs as in the past, but we do not want to be manipulated as an item to be discarded. We the elderly have dealt with the trials of life and we neither seek nor want an easy way out as we have much to teach the younger ones about stamina, patience and endurance.
Each us has an appointed time to leave this journey and move on to our reward. We don’t want nor need our scheduled time to be advanced ahead of God’s schedule whether it be by our own doing or assisted. No matter what flowery words are used to describe it, suicide, the killing of self is an unhuman event.
Proposition 106 may sound good and even compassionate, but is this not the evil way of opening the door for many additional abuses from this proposition?
John O’Hare
Bayfield
