Essay: "A G.O.P. Dystopia?"

Essay: "A G.O.P. Dystopia?"

In science-fiction Dystopia is a world in which, according to the Random House Webster's College Dictionary (1991): "social or technological trends " results in "a greatly diminished quality of life or degradation of values." It is basically a literal Hell on earth or the antithesis of Utopia or paradise. In my view the United States is now or is starting to become a Dystopia disguised as a Utopia, especially for the poor, vulnerable and have-nots. If Wisconsin Congress-man Paul Ryan's evisceration of Medicare happens, if the G.O.P gets a majority in both Houses of Congress, and/or if the next President is a right-wing Republican (and these days the mainstream of the Republican Party is the extreme right-wing) I can foresee our country falling apart for the poor and vulnerable in our society. I can foresee more alcoholism, drug and substance abuse, crime of all kinds flourishing, angry citizenry, a spike in homelessness, more suicides, a sadder, less free and less happy society. We will literally be a Dystopia except for those of us on the wealthy side, especially since most of the jobs to be had are low-paying, unpleasant service professions, which cause stress rather than affluence.

Essay: The Death of Dr. Death

Essay: The Death of Dr. Death

This week (Sunday June 5, 2011) pathologist Dr. Jack Kevorkian passed away at age 83. During the nineteen nineties Kevorkian gained infamy for inventing a machine to administer lethal chemicals to the teminally ill. In the late nineties the cocky physician was tried and convicted of murder after being arrested following one of his 100 some-odd "assisted suicides". he spent about six years behind bars. According to an obituary I read, early in Kevorkian's career he advocated giving Death Row inmates the option of donating their organs to those who could use them. He soon abandoned the idea. He was a hero to those who would rather die than to endure the pain of terminal illness or exist as brain-dead 'vegetables' surviving in an incapacitated comatose state with feeding tubes etc., and a villain to those who oppose euthanasia and likely those in the so-called Pro Life movement. I applaud his courage. I wouldn't want to be in a permanent vegetative state, but on the other hand I wouldn't necessarily want a fallible doctor or other health care professional to determine whether or not I or someone I care for is worth keeping alive in case of illness or tragedy.