Euthanasia (Paper #1)

Euthanasia Link

A very controversial issue in today’s society is Euthanasia, or ending the life of someone who is terminally ill or in a vegetative state in a painless way. "Kearl's Guide to the Sociology of Death:Moral Debates--Euthanasia," is a link from Bertrand Russell's essay, “Social Factors Shaping Perception and Decision-Making.” In Kearl's Guide it talks about euthanasia in today’s society and how everyone has a different perspective on how to end a life. This disagreement can be contributed to how people grow up and experience different events, which leads everyone to have dissimilar beliefs on a subject. The argument comes in to play because there are people who believe taking the life of a living person who is terminally ill or in a vegetative state violates their right to live. On the other side there are citizens that think if the person can no longer think for themselves, then others should make the decisions for them, such as ending their life. Euthanasia has a wide base of followers with each having their own personal beliefs due to their exposure to different social experiences throughout their lives. I am writing in response to this and showing how age, political affiliation, and religious views can shape ones thoughts.

Age plays a major role in how one feels on a certain issue. When we are little our parents control what we learn and their thoughts can be instilled into our brains. An example would be growing up in a strict conservative home and learning about religious values, which in most cases would make that person disagree with euthanasia. Age also comes into play when we are teenagers because we tend to act as our friends do. So if a “popular kid” thinks that euthanasia is wrong, then their clique of friends will follow. When we grow older we become easier to persuade because of the beating our bodies and minds take over the years. This leads people to tell false information to unsuspecting elderly citizens to change their beliefs. An example would be someone telling an older person that euthanasia is painful and most don’t know that it is actually a painless death. This would lead the elder person to disagree with euthanasia and they would continue to tell this lie to other unknowing friends. Age plays a huge roll in how we think and feel, and our beliefs fluctuate over the years of our lives.

Politics are a major factor in determining how we think. We associate ourselves with a group of the people who think alike, and we usually follow this party on every issue. The two major political parties in the U.S. are the Republicans and Democrats. Republicans tend to be an older crowd who want to keep good values and religious views in place. Democrats on the other hand are more open minded and want what is best for the people. Most Republicans are against the idea of euthanasia because it involves ending someone’s life, and this smacks heads with their values because human life is so important to them. The Democrats do not think the same way. They believe euthanasia should be legal for anyone because they believe it’s the persons or loved ones choice to decide whether they live or die. So depending on our political affiliation, it could cause us to act in different ways.

Religion, if you believe in it, probably has the strongest effect on our thoughts and actions. There are many types of religions, each having their own values and ways. One who is a member of the Christian society would tend to be against euthanasia because of their belief in the importance of life. The same would most likely go for any other religion that also follows the bible such as Catholicism, Methodists, Protestants and etc. On the other hand, one who does not believe in religion will most likely lean towards their own personal choice of whether to live or die. With religion it all comes down to what your beliefs are and it alone will determine your actions.

Different social experiences affect the human mind in diverse ways which leads to many disagreements on one subject. There is always bias when growing up, belonging to a political group and following a religion. This leads many to only get one side of the story and in most cases people fight with emotion and not knowledge. This contributes to the ongoing debate about Euthanasia and it will continue to be an argument for years to come. Life is too short to be angry all the time, so try to find the common threads that bring us together.