That title is the first line of my latest rap song I've been working on. Yep, I'm about to rip loose with a big ol' fashioned CHEESE rant here!OK, Martin (if that really IS your name, which I know it is NOT...Wikipedia told me so, Mr. Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez)...when you played the role of the President of the United States on that West Wing Show (which I never watched), I had a tad bit of respect for you (or at least the shows' writers) because your role was that of a president with Multiple Sclerosis. Kudos. But my praise stops with that five-letter word.
Get the hell off my Washington State TV screen with your "ignert" ads concerning Initiative 1000/Washington State Death With Dignity proposition that will be voted on November 4th! You DON'T live here. You seriously DON'T have MS. You can't even VOTE on the initiative because you're not a Washington State resident. So why do you care? Why don't you use that dwindling celebrity status of yours to promote something "good"...like say, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AWARENESS?!? Volunteer to do a Greater Washington MS Society ad...for FREE. Otherwise, get the hell off my TV screen about this.
I really can't take much more of this political advertising. No one is telling the TRUTH anyway. But having some aging actor from CALIFORNIA (Malibu to be exact...Wikipedia told me so and we all know Wiki doesn't lie ...wink wink) instill fear and further ignorance about this issue is just maddening!
And while I'm on this rant, let me ALSO say this (because I'm an equal opportunist basher): There is no friggin' DIGNITY in death, so I really wish we could come up with another name for making a moral and competent decision to end one's life when faced with terminal/certain and insufferable pain/death. If anyone believes there is "dignity" in the physiological act of death, try being around a corpse immediately post mortem. Every bodily muscle relaxes, including the bowel and the bladder...death has an "odor". Blood begins to pool and the flesh turns a ghastly and mottled color of crimson and blue/gray. IT'S NOT PRETTY. And it's certainly NOT dignified.
But death IS a fact of life because life IS terminal. Some people would just like to have the CHOICE of opting out of the excruciating part of the pain and suffering that sometimes accompanies dying. Some people would like the CHOICE of bypassing that possibility, in the same way we compassionately put our dogs down at the veterinarian's office (which is an entirely different tangent on this rant).
In Oregon State (where a similar law was passed in 1997), 341 people to date have CHOSEN to enact their right to end their pain/suffering prior to their terminal disease killing them naturally...that's over the past TEN years. And the majority of the folks who seek out the CHOICE via the multitude of forms, exams, mental health evaluations, and certifications they must jump through just to GET legal approval NEVER COMPLETE THE FINAL INGESTION OF THE LETHAL DOSE OF MEDICATIONS. Don't believe me on this one? Google it on the Oregon State DSHS website (and if not, just go Google yourself then!).
So shut up, Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez, and stay the heck in California where you belong...where you can die of your OWN natural causes there. Like alcoholism and smog and death by sun stroke....
You are so lucky in Washington State that you are getting to vote on these issues. I used to be a nurse and have helped my patients thru their dying process-I found it to be a sacred job. Martin, by his arrogance, is almost tempting the Universe to zing him with an ending that will test his ideas. If he gets a horrible illness, he had better hope his nurses aren't too busy with other things when he is begging them to get his narcotics asap
ReplyDeleteHere here, Joyce! I don't generally "comment on comments" anymore on CHEESE, but I just can't resist second-ing your thoughts! It is a well-know FACT, yet only whispered about in the "profession" of nursing that nurses ALREADY assist people to the great Beyond EVERY SINGLE DAY and no one is the wiser, except the patient and the nurse. When given a doctor's order to give a range of narcotics, the nurse can CHOOSE what dose to give at the patient's request, thus overmedicating them into an easy passing. DOH!
ReplyDeleteDear Gawd, if or when I wind up in some similar situation, I hope I have a competent and COMPASSIONATE nurse such as yourself, Harkoo...
BRAINCHEESE
I think you are on point here. I am glad you all get to vote on this issue.
ReplyDeleteIt's not really clear to me which side of this issue you are on (a lot of brain fog lately). Are you for euthanasia and just pissed at Martin Sheen? I used to love the West Wing because it was incredibly well written... that was before I was diagnosed tho. I too am sick to death of all political ads, and agree that he should mind his own states' business.
ReplyDeleteWOW. I did not know Martin Sheen's real name and that he played a president with MS on that show...I also never watched it.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is fabulous that as a resident you can vote on this issue in Oregon.