No, of course not. Perhaps "death escort" is a misnomer and "dying escort" would be better?
To me, as a society, we bear the responsibility to make every dying person (i.e. every person) aware of the _possibilities_ that might obtain as we approach death. Or, if the person is a "higher power" type, then at least make sure they know the information is available, even if they refuse to explore it. That can mean anything from assisted suicide to knowing that good oral hygiene drastically increases quality of life. The point of my introducing that doctors often sign DNRs for themselves was to raise the point that many (especially elderly) patients may not be aware of the low success rate, what it means to finish your life with cracked ribs (and associated stupifying pain killers), as well as where their loved ones might stand on the issues. So, while I understand your philosophical issue, I think there are more important ways we can tweak the system right now, to see how it works and try to improve it. And the timing is right as the healthcare market is flooded with baby boomers. Nicholas Thompson wrote at 04/25/2013 12:29 PM: > Point taken. But, you know. Just to wax philosophical in exactly the > sense that enrages Doug, I don't think we know our own death's, do we? > We know bereavement, we know illness and pain and decline, but we don't > know death. So, when the Death Escort accompanies me to the Doors of > Death, s/he will not know any more about where I am going than the Judas > Steer. There is, so far as I know, no point of view that is the point > of view of the dead. I always fantasize that the hardest thing about > being told one is going to die in N weeks is what to do in the meantime, > given that I have no future. (Speaks the true Apollonian; no Dionysian > I) Now, that's where a Death Escort might come in handy. > > Being a diabetic, I plan to eat a lot of hot-fudge sundaes, but beyond > that I have no plans. -- =><= glen e. p. ropella Slowly, broken windows returning to the sand ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
