According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary murder is defined as,
1: the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought2 a: something very difficult or dangerousb : something outrageous or blameworthy murder>
Which shows that murder is horrifying and can clearly be blamed on an individual. Now a few questions arise, is euthanasia murder? is fighting in the military and killing the enemy murder? Is the person that has someone jump out in front of their car while they are on the highway committing murder?
Let's start with euthanasia, this is a method that goes back to the Terri Schiavo Case. Is it legitimate to "pull the plug" when someone doesn't want to just exist in pain and suffering?
One man that has supported euthanasia and has been controversial to many places for it is Dr. Jack Kevorkian also known as "Dr.Death". This man has assisted in about 130 assisted deaths. He was sentenced to prison for 10 to 25 years back in 1998 and was released after 8 for good behavior. He is 79 years old now and still believes he has stayed moral even though it wasn't legal.
So this has sparked states like California to make sure euthanasia is done humanely and views Dr. Kevorkian as an example of what not to do. The problem for them isn't what he did but how he did it, he created a suicide machine and didn't limit it to terminally ill patients that you could put a short time frame on their lives.
The dilemma is where do you draw the line and how can you without coming across crazy? Now Burke J. Balch and Randall k. O'Bannon argue that euthanasia is giving people the "right to suicide". The part they strongly oppose is that people are in a calm and rational state of mind when wanting to be euthanized.
Now when you interchangeably use words like suicide and euthanasia the issue is being presented as murder clear cut and obvious. Since calm and rational are words open to interpretation this becomes a very vague argument.
Another issue is what would war be defined as in context to murder. According to Webster since it is lawful it wouldn't be murder and typically if it is someone like Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden most people don't look negatively at it but when it is Gaza and women and children that aren't terrorists are killed the results drastically vary.
Now the Israelites didn't intentionally kill innocent people but it happened. Some now view them as starting terrorism and others back them up. So casualties in war, are they murdered or just casualties?
Just imagine that one night your driving home from work and your on Fletcher or Fowler when suddenly someone jumps out in front of your car and there are cars behind and alongside of you, and your going 45 mph. No matter what you do someone is going to get injured and possibly die. If someone ends up dead did you murder them?
So now the issues are here and the question stands? What is murder and is it justifiable? So valid points are made by different sides but the major determinant in this situation is what are your religious and political convictions?
To kill is end some things life. Hunters kill, either for food or for sport. When a person is accidently killed it is manslaughter, when done intentionally it is murder.
ReplyDeleteNo one has the individual right to take some else life, but the government has a responsibility to protect the citizens, even if that means using extreme force.
When life is lost during combat the mental anguish a person suffers is beyond understanding, but the military person is not murderer.
Like paying taxes; we are all going to die.
Way to throw up some of the most vague and contested issues of our time. The only way this could be more of a contested idea is if you add in religion. Euthanasia was primarily considered bad previously because suicide was considered wrong by religion, no matter what state the patient was in, or the situation. War is considered necessary evil, by killing those who would kill others, or by doing something horrible to prevent potential other atrocities. Killing, in any situation is supposed to be a last resort. It's our justifications and reason that try to argue what qualifies as an appropriate situation.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I have very different views on war. He sees it as a necessity. The idealist in me says there’s a better way. Are people in the military committing murder while at war? Would it be more or less likely to be considered murder if we snipered our enemies independently instead of dropping bombs on their countries? Is military killing justified by the idea that we are defending ourselves? Does God agree that we need to do whatever we can to protect our families? Is it murder if someone breaks into your home and is going to hurt you or your family and you kill them in defense? Is the death penalty murder? I don’t believe in the death penalty, even though I really, really want to. First of all if you deserve the death penalty then you deserve to live life in prison, the dampest, darkest parts of prison, living your life in misery. Killing them is like letting them get out early. Plus, I don’t think it should be up to us to take someone else’s life. Even if they took it upon themselves to end someone else’s. Did an eye for an eye get left back in the Old Testament? So many questions.
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