Is It Right to Take Your Own Life - Coursework Example

Is it right to take your own life? May 14 2009 Contemporary world might have improved health facilities and increased average age of living yet the number of the people who ignore all these innovations and end their lives is increasing day by day. It is an alarming situation. In the following essay I have discussed the reasons which move people to kill themselves and its consequences. I negate the topical question and firmly believes that, under no circumstances, its permissible to take you own life. Human life is precious and should be treasured. I have supported my point of view with real life examples of two people I know who committed suicide and left the family to suffer for their mistakes. Life is beautiful and no condition is so depressing that we cant find a way out. The key is to wait and see. Killing oneself is a cowardly act- everyone should refrain from A person in my street had met with an accident a few years back. It proved fatal and he died on spot leaving behind a widow and four children. The eldest was a son and everyone expected him to support the family after the death of his father. Perhaps it was too much pressure for his nerves and he could not stand it. He escaped the whole scenario by running- to a beach. The only solution of this problem which occurred to him was to go to sea and let the cruel waves engulf him. And this is what the waves did accurately. His body reached his home only a month after his family had waved goodbye to their father in coffin. Sad isnt it. Yet the dilemma of the situation is that people can still make it a debatable point. They can provide you with a long list of reasons which will justify his desperate action. We have come to that level of insensitivity that today I am required to pen down an assignment which questions the righteousness of the action of committing suicide. Under no circumstances will I call the action of killing oneself correct. The unfortunate state is that we have been so much infused with the words our rights that we think we can also interfere in Gods decisions. I know sometimes the situation gets out of hands. Like the above mentioned boy, there are people, who get stuck in such a manner that no outlet could be found. We go so deep into the ocean of disappointments that no light reaches us. Still, I do not believe that the light has disappeared altogether. It is just the fact that we are not facing it. Lets first analyse the motives which instigate a person to take this extreme measure. Depression is the root cause which pushes people so hard against the wall that the only escape seems to be suicide. This is a state under which the body parts seize to function normally. And this just proves that people act so desperately, when they are not totally fit. Nine out of 10 people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental illness and up to three out of four individuals who take their own life had a physical illness when they committed suicide (Dryden-Edwards). The way we perceive the society usually depends upon the health of our brain. The state, where we have convinced ourselves about the cruel nature of the world, can only occur if a person has some psychological illness. And as we do not hold psychologically upset patient responsible for his actions we cant allow him to take his own valuable life. Studies have showed that majority of the people who take their lives are mentally sick and so their action cannot be justified under any circumstances. They need care and kindness rather than the modern approach which permits all and sundry to do with their life whatever they wish. Failure in competitive world is another reason which encourages people to end their lives. This is a disturbing fact but the truth at hand is that the rate of educated and well placed people committing suicide is more than that of under privileged people. Suicide is especially common among physicians, lawyers and psychologist (Rathus, 1981). Japan is a country with maximum literacy rate and official statistics show that last year, a record 32,863 Japanese and foreigners committed suicide in Japan, or a huge 35 percent increase over the 1997 figure. Many of them were failed businessmen or jobless workers who could no longer cope with doing nothing, while some killed themselves because of work-related stress (Karmiol, 1999). The figures are alarming and more alarming are the reality that people who had supposedly gained everything could not suffice on that. Unfulfilled love is another and common cause among all college students in general and that of third world countries in particular. They dont have many recreational activities to entertain them and the feeling of love acts as a possible outlet to expel day to day tension. I remember watching a movie which showed a boy who had attempted suicide. The hero of the movie rightly commented that if he understood the feeling of love so well, that its absence made life worthless, then how come he couldnt comprehend the love of his mother. Suicide is one form of death which leave the relatives not only with pain but also a feeling of guilt. We not only finish ourselves but selfishly also kill those who care about us. Incurable diseases have left us all to argue over the correctness of assisted suicides. A few writers actually believe that some suicides are quite logical (Rathus, 1981(Shneidman & Farberow, 1970)), as in case of terminally ill patient in unrelenting pain. Euthanasia literally means to help people with a good death. Its a wretched site. We are really slack in helping people with good life but are eager to provide them with a good death. I am still unable to understand what kind of death is good death. Perhaps death of fit, courageous and gallant soldier who is nowhere near pain might be treated as good and is celeberated by his country men. But our problem is that we have stopped to believe in a supereme power. The reason assissted death failed to attain any legal status is that people in lawmaking business are more sensible and have a better insight. I think if God wills some one to breathe who are we to stop his heartbeat? The suffering of patients have forced many moderates to take under consideration the right-to-die. They might have their explanations but then where have the fandamental values of our society gone? By supporting such notions we devalue the worth of humun life. Any social tolernce to the thought of euthanasia will push us to the thin edge of a wedge where blood will be no longer thicker than water. Unfortunate fact is that those who participate in the death (the relatives, the euthanasia advocates, the physician) are celebrated as enhancing the dignity of the patient, who is usually presented as a heroic, fully independent figure (DInley, 1998). A small group deciding if you should continue to breathe or not is a dangerous precedent a good example ,perhaps, would be the treatment crippeled received in Hitlers regime. People killing them selves for a greater cuase is a frequent view nowadays. Previously, Japan was one of the few countries left in the world where suicide was considered an honorable act (Karmiol, 1999) but now the scenario has changed. We witness suicide attacks almost in the whole world. Tamil tigers, Islamic militants or IRA men all are ready to lay their life for their greater cause. But along with their life they also take lives of many other innocent people. One can actually debate if such suicide attacks really help in their cause but what I know is that these people will never be able to see it. Taking ones own life has become much easier in the contemporary world. And this is a frightening state of affairs. The worst part is the suffering of people who are left behind. Even months and years after the demise they keep asking themselves what they could have done to prevent this measure. A few months back my friends father killed himself as he lost the job which had taken 13 years of his life. His wife is still not ready to face the world. She could have coped up with an unemployed husband but a husband who left them all in deep water is unbearable. The family not only has to bear the loss they also have to put up with the society and their curious faces. It reflects, to others, a self centered attitude of the connected people as they could not help a man when he needed them the most. Ill even go to the extent of calling this act a cowardly one. The people left behind feel the pain and go through the struggle afterwards. Individuals, who loose someone from suicide, keep searching for the reason of suicide often hiding or negating the truth. They feel cheated by the loved one and also stigmatized. Suicide survivors are left with an emptiness having no interest in activities that the sufferer used to enjoy (Dryden-Edwards). I thank God that no religion permits us to take our own life. Christianity, Islam, Judaism or any other of the worlds major religion considers it a sin. I know its rather old fashioned to talk in terms of vice or virtue but however out of date it might seem we have to go back to Him finally. And He has not permitted us to take the matters of life and death in our hand. Augustine says (De Civ. Dei i 20): "Thou shalt not kill" refer to the killing of a man, not another man; therefore, not even thyself. For he who kills himself kills nothing else than a man. Suicide rate has increased dramatically over past few decades. Despite its affect on relatives, illegality, no normal funeral ceremony and being despised by God the ratio is rapidly growing. Adolescent suicide is a more common scene now. Some psychologist suggest that the amount of stress teenagers experience- in terms of academic and social pressure has raisin sharply recent decades provoking most troubled teenagers to take their own life (Feldman, 1999). One must pause to consider why have the young ones who are supposed to be full of life and hopes become so hopeless. Taking ones life is not an easy decision yet people are making it. May be I am acting insensitive towards the tribulations these people face. But I firmly believe that no matter how tough a situation is, it passes one day. Society should discourage the attempts and thoughts of suicide. By calling it an individuals own decision to live or die, we isolate ourselves and him from a larger community. More often than not the people who fail to meet their expectations end their lives. I suggest we start a social movement which teaches us to lower our goals, instead of our self esteem, if we are unable to meet them. Conclusion: Life at times encounters problems which seem to have no solution. But, trust me, no matter how difficult the predicament is or how painful the emotions are they all surpass with time. And besides, think of the people who love you so much. At some instant it might seem that they do not care but no one wills other person to leave them for eternity. Life is beautiful with all its ups and downs. What seem impossible today might look like a trivial issue tomorrow. We do not know what life holds for us and we will keep asking ourselves this question if we don’t give life a chance to tell us that. The important thing is not to lose hope and in any case why is there an urgent need to die. Death is the ultimate end so why not meet it after tackling all your issues instead of meeting it early and leaving everything behind. REFRENCES: DInley, J. (1998). Suicide Right or Wrong? Amherst, NY.: Prometheus Books . Dryden-Edwards, R. (n.d.). Sucide Warning Signs, Symtoms, Causes. Retrieved 05 13, 2009, from Medicine.Net: http://www.medicinenet.com/suicide/article.htm Feldman, R. S. (1999). Understanding Psychology. McGraw Hills Companies. Karmiol, E. (1999, August 4). Suicide rate takes a worrisome jump . Asia Times . Rathus, S. A. (1981). Psychology. Oralando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc. Read More