Bart, All thoughts are welcomed by me. Anything which can goad the general population into at least semi-rational thought processes is a mitzvah!
As to being sent on before my time ... there's something about that terminology that opens a can of worms. At my stage in life I don't fear death, but I'd be rather pixxed off if I didn't get to do all those things on my personal list waiting for the discovery of the 'round tuit' ... Yet I try to live each day so that I don't have any major errors of import that can't be corrected before I drop dead. That means I speak out instead of thinking of speaking out, I attempt to make apologies due as soon as I realize they are due, I try to give praise as soon as it is earned, I try to encourage when encouragement is what is needed. And I don't consider that a "religious" approach to anything. It's simply the way I feel I want to live my life, what I believe in 'body & soul.' But if I live that way when is "my time" to go? Right now, or only when I'm unable to live by my own belief structure? And what about the young? I have a son who cannot even visualize his own future ... he has no idea where he'll be or what he'd be doing in two years, let alone twenty. When is his time? Death is essential to life, because resources are limited and recycling is necessary. But what is the baseline for anyone or anything when it comes to being the right time? As far as I know, there is no religion or philosophy which sets forth a specific number of years of life being "right," let alone guaranteed. And who can say what the consequences are of a single death, anywhere in the world? Where would China be if Mao died as a child? Where would the Western Hemisphere be if Kennedy were assasinated before the Cuban 'missle crisis'? If Saddam Husein's sons had rebelled against him, killed him, and taken over the country 20, 15 or 10 years ago, what shape would the world be in? Would the Turks still be afraid of the Kurds getting their own atonomous country? Would Afganistan been freed of Soviet influence sooner & Al Qaida never gotten as strong? It's impossible to say ... but lots of authors can get rich playing around with 'alternate universes' based upon those what-ifs. <G> So, for myself, I must take the stance that "before my time" isn't a viable part of the formula for how I live my life. l.d. -- Arachne V1.71;UE01, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
