No one could blame you.

On Friday 11 September, British Members of Parliament discussed an Assisted Dying Bill, which would enable doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to patients with less than six months to live, if the patient requested it.

No one could blame you.
Save six months of pricey meds.
Free up one of those hospice beds.
One less mouth that must be fed.
No one could blame...

No one could blame you.
Save your family from the shame.
Free them from the waiting game.
You won't even know their name.
No one could...

No one could blame you.
Save yourself from all the pain.
Freedom from that endless strain.
Wouldn't it be more humane?
No one...

No one could blame you.
Save yourself with one small pill.
Freedom comes when all is still.
All it takes is your free will.
No.

The bill was rejected, with 118 in favour and 330 against.

Comments

Between responsibility and freedom

Wouldn't it be nice to just... go? To walk out the door on a nice sunny day and follow any path you fancy, as far as you like. No time constraints, no shopping list, nothing to hold you back. You're free. You're on your own. You're not the only one to have this kind of dream. Alastair Humphreys' book The Doorstep Mile is written for people who want more adventure in their lives, but somehow never quite get around to making it happen. And the top two reasons why they don't are: "I don't have enough time!" and "I feel guilty/selfish/it's not fair on my family!" So you might start thinking that what we all need is less responsibility in our lives. It's a tempting idea, that freedom. But as I considered my responsibilities, I realised that many of them arise out of connection to other people. I shop and cook and clean for my family, because I love them and want to care for them. I help to teach the kids at church because I am connect...

Enthusiasm and cynicism

Some while ago I heard a sermon on the story of Zacchaeus. I forget what the point of the sermon was - usually for this Bible passage it's something about Jesus saving everyone, even the unlikely people. But I remember wondering, did Zacchaeus really give all that money away? Image by Alexa from Pixabay You may remember the tale: Zacchaeus is a corrupt government official who is rather short. When Jesus arrives in town, Zacchaeus wants to get a look at him. So he climbs a tree to see over other people's heads. However, Jesus spots him and tells him to get out of the tree and go cook Jesus some dinner. I assume Jesus phrased it a little more nicely than that, because Zacchaeus is delighted, and moreover, promises to change his entire lifestyle. "Half of my possessions I give to the poor," he declares with the enthusiasm of the instant convert, "and anyone I've defrauded, I'll pay back four times over." The surrounding crowd are the cynics: Jesus, th...

Working on sunshine

Freeeee electricity! No, seriously. This guy came and knocked on the door one day, and I don't usually pay any more attention to random strangers trying to sell me something at the door than you probably do, but I guess he must have said "free" enough times to penetrate my consciousness, so I found myself agreeing to have someone check our house's suitability for solar panels. And another guy turned up, and measured; and another one, and we signed; and a few more, and put up scaffolding and panels and meter boxes and cable; and suddenly, if we're careful, we can avoid paying for any electricity during daylight hours, because it's all generated right up there above our heads. Of course, we have the British government to thank for this, which probably means we're paying for it somewhere along the line. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (presumably it's actually against climate change rather than for it, although you never know) has...

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