Death and Taxes
I am going to have to agree with Mr. Butler when he says that death may be the only thing certain in our lives. In the case of Terri Shiavo I believe the government has absolutly no right to intervene with a familiy situtation this “deep”. If the family wanted to pay for the treatment and rehabilitation attempts, then so be it because in reality are they really hurting anyone? The family was playing the role of the protector by doing what they thought was best for thier daughter, a trait common to organisms everywhere. Although I have already stated that I believe the family had the right to keep thier daughter alive as long as medically possible, I can’t help to think how ridiculous it seems to keep someone alive when they are in avegetative state. I watched the video that Paige graced us with and the responses were so minimal and even though I’m not a trained professional I do believe that even with rehabilitation Terri will never be the same. From pictures taken prior to her fall she seemed to be a very vibrant individual and to me a persons personality is what makes them enjoyable to others and to themselves. No single person has the same personality and when they are not able to express that part of themselves, thier uniqueness seperating them from any other living thing on this earth, then I belive a part of them has died. I love being able to interact with others and I am beyond grateful for the ability to do so, but with Terri’s fall she sadly lost that part of herself. The machines obviously work great in keeping people alive, but are they really keeping them “alive”? No person wants to endure the rest of thier life in a hospital, coma or not, but if the family still had hope then I believe that should be the ending argument and the conclusion to any case similar to this in the future. Let the family decide, thier the only ones that really know what thier loved ones would want.
HIV in Schools
Discrimination: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. (Dictionary.com)
The effects of discrimination are felt everywhere in this world and will be until the end of time, whenever that may be. With that being said I feel that I can now clearly state my position on the entrance of HIV infected chilidren into the school system. I feel that a child that has been infected with HIV should without a doubt be allowed to attend whatever school they would like. The majority of the time those children were infected without even knowing they were. They might not even be able to understand the reality of the virus they possess, but because of other peoples past mistakes they will now pay. They will never live a so called normal life, and not allowing them to go to school won’t make thier lives any easier. Though after 12 years of school people may grow to get sick of it, but imagine if you wern’t allowed to go at all. Brilliant minds could be lost if we discriminate against children with HIV. They are capable of all the things people who aren’t infected with HIV are and I believe that thier condition should not be a burden when it comes to thier education.
Jane Goodall
If I could travel back in time to meet any famous scientist I would’nt have to because the scientist I would like to meet is still alive. I would love to meet and converse with the one and only Jane Goodall. She broke out of the traditional brainy, cold scientist stereotype and instead went for a more caring and compassionate route. Her main work delt with chimpanzees and she made some very important discoveries including the use of tools by chimps, as well as cooperative hunting among different species of monkeys. She treated her “subjects” very well and even named them instead of assigning them random numbers that dont mean anything. Besides her actual chimpanzee studies, she also focuses on perserving the envoronment and to this day still travels to meet that goal. If I got a chance to speak with her I would let her know that she has been a huge inspiration for all women in the science field, and that she carved the path for a little love in biology. I would also ask to meet some of her “subjects” seeing as chimps just happen to be my favorite animal.
