Note: Since Euthanasia is too wide of a subject to be addressed within a short frame work such as this essay, it is therefor limited to the following definition:
Euthanasia: "Execution of one's will to terminate one's own life, at the time and place and by the means one chooses to".

The Old Eskimos, when they know it's time, dine with their family in the evening.
Once dinner is over, they leave the Igloo never to come back, freezing to death in the eternal snow.

Living with Pride, Dying in Shame.
My neighbor Ino, is of an Italian origin.
Born in Rome to a Jewish family, he was a Partisan during the 2nd world war, and has immigrated to Israel in 1947, becoming a witness to the struggles, the failures and the successes of this country and his generation for the last 50 years.

10 years ago, when I first came to live in my new house, I watched with admiration how Ino, who was 74 years old at the time, was taking care of himself and his surroundings.
Ino used to grow in his garden the most wonderful flowers, herbs and Basil plants, enriching my view at day and my Pastas at night.
Every morning, after Ino had his morning shower and shave, we used to meet at his garden to discuss world events while picking the best green onion for my morning salad.
Ino never married, and we had many debates regarding the matter - marriage versus living alone without a companion. Ino was the epitome of a person who, although living alone and being old, carried himself with pride and dignity.

Three years ago in the dead of winter, Ino had some lungs problems and was admitted to the hospital. Two weeks later, when Ino returned, he was a changed man, a different person. After one more week of absence from our morning encounters, Ino finally came to his garden, and told me of the terrible time and of the painful events he had to go through while staying at the hospital.
He told me of the nurses who would only change his sheets once a week. He told me how they would not bother to clean him properly, splashing some water over his body once in three days, and how he felt like a pitiful baby - a feeling he never had in his life - living proudly as a human being.

Whose life is it, Any way?
In old Greece, when Socrates knew his time has come, he summoned all his friends, pupils and relatives, to a last farewell dinner party.
That night, after all have drunk and eaten, Socrates went to his room, took a poisonous potion, and died peacefully in his bed.

In the old days, a person's body belonged to the person himself, not to God.
It is only now, since Religion has gained so much power and influence, that the sovereignty over one's body has been taken away from one's hands, and given to the state - under the welcoming eyes and bank accounts of the Religious establishment, who in Israel and in other countries as well has a domineering status over the ruling government.
People with religious background tend to think that it is God who gives life, thus it is God who should take that life away.
They may be right, but shouldn't this kind of decision be subjective? Shouldn't a person have the power and control over his own death, being able to choose when and how to end 'the journey'?

Quality Verses Quantity.
"More is never Enough" - David Bowie.
There is a tendency in modern society to substitute quality by quantity.
We live by the false promise that since the self is the most important thing in the Western Ego-centered world, that self should be pampered - by material things, the more the better, and for the longest time possible. But is it really to the benefit of the old person, to have his life extended at all costs, losing all dignity and self-respect in the process? Most old people, if asked, would prefer to terminate their life before they are put at the mercy of an army of enthusiastic doctors, armed with artificial and medical devises, and financed by the state medical insurance.

A while ago, a friend of mine was visiting her grandmother, who was hospitalized in a state of coma, and was kept alive through a lung and heart machine. After my friend told me of her grandmother, lying unconsciously in the hospital with tubes and pipes probing in and out of her body, I asked her if she thinks there was any kind of benefit to her grandmother - being kept alive this way, not responding or recognizing any beloved person of her past. My friend response was she did not care - it was important for her to see and stay next to her grandmother - as much as she could, and the more - the better.

The Next World.
Even though the idea of 'The Next World' was initiated and implemented onto the public cognition by religious leaders, who took this idea and presented it as if it was a prize given only to true believers, perhaps belief in such idea could make departing from loved ones easier.
Hence on the sociological level it would assist the idea of Euthanasia, the idea of providing a person with the possibility of deciding when to end it all - since he will be back in the next world.
But is it not the mere idea of Death, of confronting with it, that is the main issue disabling mankind from taking full responsibility over Death?
Hence the welcome surrender to the religious attitude - "let God decide, not the person".

The main issue is not the next world, but this world.
Ino, since his return from the hospital, is obsessed with one idea: How to die peacefully.
But the hypocrisy of the general public, backed by the medical and the religious establishment, is preventing him from taking his own life.
When one grows old, ironically one becomes afraid of death.
When Ino learned of a book named: "One Hundred Ways of Suicide", he asked me to try and buy this book over the Internet, since it was not available in Hebrew. Although this book was well known, not one store had it in stock, as if it never existed!

The Amorphic Principal.
In Nature, the direction and the natural course of events is towards decay and disorder, i.e. Death. We never get to see a broken glass springs back from the floor to become the glass we had a moment ago in our hands, drinking water from it.
The flowers in our garden will only survive if we irrigate them, while disposing of bad weeds surrounding them. When we live and flourish in our society, we negate the Amorphic Principal, creating a surrounding neighborhood which we tend to believe as a better one, a protective one for us. We try to find cures to all illnesses. We try to find the fountain of youth, going through long and expensive genetic researches.
But we can't really win. We all must die.

Eventually, Mankind has to suffice to the Amorphic Principal, like all other animals do. Ino, at the end of his life, is surrendering to the Amorphic Principal, by professing his Death Wish to me. But Ironically, some of our most enriching and wonderful conversations took place after his return from the hospital, making me think how unfortunate and sad it could have been if Ino was not around. So perhaps after all, the decision whether one should be responsible for one's death is not so easy, witnessing some of the conflicts over this issue. Or is it society itself that has taken mankind away from sovereignty over our own life and death, while disabling us from clear comprehension of the facts regarding this matter?

Conclusion.
Mankind refuses to confront and comprehend the issue of death. We regard our life and the people close to us as immortal. Since Religion and religious leaders have confiscated control over life from mankind, one never regards Death as a close companion. If mankind would regard death as a homogenous part of life, conflicts and decisions regarding this issue may be easier to comprehend and execute. Perhaps it would be wise if we recall what Goethe - the great German poet - has once said: "Death is the shadow behind our shoulder".

To be continued...

Written by Micha Kovler, 9.11.2000
This article or any part of it may not be used without a written permission from Micha Kovler