tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923424816839609066.post7758518797357407562..comments2024-03-28T02:35:33.708-07:00Comments on Ken Ring Blog: Is It Time for a New Modest Proposal?Kevin Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10028779062267448624noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923424816839609066.post-21138134014411200532023-03-03T10:32:43.194-08:002023-03-03T10:32:43.194-08:00Here's a better idea. It is not necessary to k...Here's a better idea. It is not necessary to kill everyone who reaches 70, just the very wealthy, and redistribute their wealth to the common good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923424816839609066.post-85078800654926586282023-02-22T15:20:06.233-08:002023-02-22T15:20:06.233-08:00Here is a comment that Ken Ring emailed me concern...Here is a comment that Ken Ring emailed me concerning this article:<br /><br />"I think some of my readers have failed to see that my remarks were intended to be humorous, and that I wasn’t really advocating that our elderly should be dispatched before their time. I was only trying to suggest that in countries with a low birthrate and a high and increasing proportion of old and often demented people, sooner or later, there would have to be reckoning. And people should start thinking about how to deal with this problem now. No solution is easy."Kevin Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10028779062267448624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923424816839609066.post-77059782017921200782023-02-22T10:15:13.503-08:002023-02-22T10:15:13.503-08:00We are here on Earth a short time. Those of us who...We are here on Earth a short time. Those of us who experienced childhood polio have only known life with pain. It hasn't stopped us from being contributing members of society and journeying on with love. We are grateful for the kindness and goodness of others that has enabled us to actualize our spiritual natures until death parts us from this world. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923424816839609066.post-87333271860480473232023-02-22T08:53:24.124-08:002023-02-22T08:53:24.124-08:00AmenAmenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923424816839609066.post-85348485831201802892023-02-22T08:26:29.012-08:002023-02-22T08:26:29.012-08:00I don't think it safe to even be joking about ...I don't think it safe to even be joking about such a thing. The human animal is far less ethical, moral, altruistic, and just plain good than we have ever been able to face because we do not want to face the reality of our own selfishness, indifference, rage, and fear.<br /><br />Many years ago, when I was a second grade teacher, my students and I watched excitedly as over twenty baby chicks were pecking their way out of the confinement of their shells where they had gestated for the time nature required. The children wanted to "help" them emerge more quickly from their eggs. I told them, "We cannot rush this. We must let nature do things the way she does them. One cannot rush a butterfly in emerging from its chrysalis and one must not rush a baby chick emerging from its shell." There are reasons for everything and I personally find the idea of mass suicide for seniors repulsive and dangerous even in jest.<br /><br />We do not know the spiritual implications of rushing death. I personally do not want to know when I will die. I am confident I will handle it fine when I arrive to the destination, but I do not want to be given advanced notice of its arrival. There is one exception. I think it is natural and acceptable for a person to decide to stop eating and/or drinking when she or he is ready to make that transition into the next realm. This seems seems reasonable for an individual to decide for himself or herself if she or he wants to go on, but even this is difficult to know what to do when my parent has temporarily given up, but I know if provided rest and proper nutrition can recover to enjoy another day.<br /><br />One other thing I must say about seniors. I know I'm not one yet (only age 59), but I have visited seniors in retirement homes since I was seventeen and I have seen thousands of seniors in varying stages of their lives and varying losses of memory and control over their bodily functions, and I can say I'm surprised, not by the level of misery of these seniors, but the level of contentment, and I wonder whether our assessment of their "misery" might be more a projection of our own discomfort with their declining appearance, the smell of the facilities, and the constant care they require when we would like to be out having fun, making love, feeding our bodies and minds, and generally pursuing pleasure.<br /><br />All the known universe is born, has a lifespan, and transitions into something else. Everything participates in this process. Even galaxies are born, have a life cycle, and transition into something else. I wouldn't require aging galaxies to commit to an abrupt end. I wouldn't encourage planets to decide when it's time to be destroyed. I'm going to trust that this aging process, as uncomfortable, and perhaps even miserable for some that it might be, is not only natural, but the right thing to do. If the whole universe is aging and transitioning and constantly being born again, then it must be a very good thing to do.Brian Anthony Kraemernoreply@blogger.com