A Moment of Silence For Terri Schiavo

I really don’t know what to say about the fiasco surrounding Terri Schiavo—thus my silence to date.

I smell a really stinky rat (her husband possibly?) or rats (the Florida court system possibly?) in the woodpile somewhere, but I can’t at this point discern enough detail to add substantially to the national dialogue.

Everyone seems to be forming their opinion on the issue on a pro-life/choice and Republican/Democrat basis. How the heck the issue of abortion came creeping into this situation is beyond my comprehension. Private family issues like the life or death of a disabled loved one should never be reduced to the level of personal political affiliation.

Our country was founded based on the concept of separation of powers and was endowed with a system of checks and balances. The executive and legislative branches of our government were always overtly political in their nature, but the judicial branch was in theory supposed to rise above political interests to interpret the US Constitution and the subsequent laws passed by the executive and legislative branch in a fair and evenhanded basis. I said “in theory” because I am afraid that our local, state, and federal judiciary train has jumped off of the tracks and the Terri Schiavo Fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg of a morass of unintended consequences that are going to arise as a result of the judicial failures of the past forty or fifty years. What a complete and total fatal train wreck we are witnessing in Florida.

I have a great deal of compassion for families that deal with the day-to-day realities of fellow family members suffering from the consequences of birth defects or health related disabilities. Regardless of whether a loved one cannot walk “normally”, talk “normally”, is blind, is hearing impaired (what we used to call blind, deaf, or “dumb”), or is severely mentally disabled in some other manner—the examples of love and caring exhibited by most humans far outweighs the abusive examples shown on television for the purposes of so-called “entertainment.”

Both sides of my family has been blessed with both good health and at least average intelligence, although some, like me, have squandered a great deal of our God given talent in search of things like the perfect beach, the perfect sunset, and the perfect Rum Cocktail. I admit, however, that I have a severe problem with the local court system, our national Congress, or the President (regardless of whether I voted for him or not) getting involved with life and death decisions regarding my family members.

You, too, should have a problem with this type of government intervention and intrusion.

While the judicial situation is of our own making, the influence on Terri’s medical treatment should give us all a vivid example of the total failure and uselessness of Government when it comes to helping us manage our day-to-day lives. We have let our government intrude incrementally into our business over the years, but the current fiasco provides proof that we absolutely cannot rely on government to make these decisions for us.

Fifteen years ago I wrote two very important documents. I drafted a Living Will and a Power of Attorney for Medical Care. Both documents are lost somewhere in the filing cabinets and Safe Deposit boxes of my past life, but I intend to remedy that situation IMMEDIATELY.

I’m afraid that it is really too late for Terri Schiavo to benefit from the public outcry on her behalf, but I suggest that Terri’s legacy should be that of influencing millions of Americans to spend the time to put their wishes regarding extraordinary healthcare decisions IN WRITING.

In addition, make sure that your immediate family members know what your wishes are and that legal copies of your documents are available for use by your healthcare facilities. This is often a problem because you can’t predict that you will be severely injured in an auto accident in a rental car in Chicago when you live in South Georgia. That’s why informing your family and properly preparing and registering your documents is so important.

Our Imperial State and Federal Governments will literally kill you with kindness and compassion. They take over a third of your money, but I say that you shouldn’t let them end up taking your life.