Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5—The Georgia Bulletin, September 1,1983
Sheila Mallon
Choose Life
The phone rang at home one day last week. When I
answered, the voice at the other end was as whispery and
tentative as dry leaves on a windy day.
The man, an elderly man, he confided, was calling
because he had been upset by a front page article in the
Atlanta papers. The article was about a patient who was
slowly dying of Lou Gherig’s disease, also known as
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The illness causes
deterioration of the nerve cells in the spinal cord and
brain stem and usually leads to total paralysis and death.
My elderly caller was upset because in an editorial the
newspaper called for the passage of “living will”
legislation. The article claimed that had our state joined
13 others in the passage of such legislation, Mr. Young,
the patient, and his family would not have had to go
through a court hearing for him to be removed from life
support systems.
The editorial in the Atlanta Constitution regarding
living wills was grossly in error. A living will is only of use
when the patient is no longer conscious or is unable
because of the progress of the disease to communicate his
desires to his family and doctor. In no way would a living
will have been of the slightest use to Mr. Young.
In fact, it seems that the insistence of the hospital on
legal intervention was directly related to the fact that the
patient was still conscious. Possibly the hospital feared
that there might be repercussions later if it was felt that
the patient was not competent enough to make this
decision.
Patients who are no longer conscious and who are
Father John Catoir
Labor Day
Labor Day has lost much of its significance in recent
years. For some, for instance, it’s just a three-day
weekend, the last chance for some R and R before school
begins. But Labor Day celebrates the historic importance
of the labor movement. Unfortunately, when the word
“union” is mentioned today, many people think of
leaders such as Jimmy Hoffa, union goons, crippling
strikes against the public, greedy demands and declining
industries.
This is a sad development because the principles behind
the great union movement are unimpeachable: the dignity
of work, the right to organize and the right to bargain to
improve one’s lot. One look at Poland today gives us a
good idea of what happens in a nation when these rights
are suppressed.
I had lunch a few weeks ago with Theodore Kheel, the
labor mediator. He was speaking in glowing terms about
Pope John Paul’s speeches during his most recent visit to
Poland. Kheel asked for copies of every speech because he
saw each one as a classic restatement of the principles of
unionism. He had been discussing the Pope’s trip with
some Catholic labor leaders the night before and they
were critical of Pope John Paul II for “immersing himself
in politics.”
Kheel, who is not a Catholic, disagreed. “What’s
political about enunciating principles of justice or
proclaiming the right of people to assemble and organize
for their own betterment?” He applauded what the Pope
was trying to do.
Unions have been a great force for good in this country.
An argument can be made that they saved America from a
legacy of human exploitation and from Marxist takeover
during the early days of the industrial expansion. Unions
are largely responsible for the high standard of living of
workers in America, and while it’s true that they have had
their scandals (murder, embezzlement, etc.), nevertheless,
it’s unfair to judge an institution by the mischief of the
thieves and hoodlums who infiltrate it.
It is right and just for men and women to join together
to improve their own lot and achieve justice. Labor Day is
our way of celebrating the best that Unionism represents.
Core, free copy of the Christopher News Notes, “Ten Tips for
Strengthening Your Organization, ’’ send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope to The Christophers. 12 East 48th St., New York NY
10017.
terminally ill are removed from extraordinary life support
systems every day without the necessity of having the
courts intervene.
According to the news article, this was the first hearing
of its kind in Georgia. Obviously the need for court
intervention has not been necessary.
Why then, I asked my caller, should we sign a “living
will” giving doctors carte blanche far in advance of
whatever illness or accident may befall us? We would be
literally assigning the right to dispose of our life to a
doctor who at the time of our illness or accident might be
unknown to us.
Many people are concerned about the “right to die.”
This term can mean very different things. Death itself is
not a right but a fate we are all heir to. When we hear the
phrase “right to die,” it usually refers to the fact that we
want more control over the circumstances under which we
or loved ones die.
This can lead to more honest discussion with doctors
about one’s condition and more say on the part of the
patient about whether he will accept a given treatment.
The problems arise because in some cases, people want
legislation to allow doctors to stop caring for people who
are viewed as not having a “meaningful life.” This
legislation is dangerous and we could be the victims.
We need to be aware of our rights as they exist
presently under the law. We have a constitutional right to
refuse medical treatment for ourselves. The doctor must
have our consent to institute treatment. Calls for a “new”
law in such matters overlook the fact that the law already
gives the competent patient the responsibility to consent
thence the right to refuse.
For the incompetent patient the situation is a little
more difficult. The law is clear enough but there is the
need to make sure that appointed or self-appointed
guardians are acting in the patient’s best interests.
Needless to say, this is an area where the law must be very
careful so as to prevent injustices to the helpless.
I suggested to my caller that he talk openly with his
loved ones and doctors about his fears. If he finds that he
cannot accept his physician’s approach, now would be the
time to change doctors. Many anxieties are lessened when
people know where you stand.
The one sure thing that we can all agree on is that
without the right to life there can be no dignity in death.
Dolores Curran
Parents As Students
School is upon us and
we are about to turn our
children over to a system
that has been tried and
found wanting by a high
government commission,
the media and college
admissions directors who
decry the lack of writing
and spelling skills evident
among today’s students.
I confess this brings to
the surface some
conflicting emotions
within me. On one hand,
the old English teacher in
me says, “Right on. I
don’t care if your teacher
isn’t grading on spelling or
penmanship, you need to
write properly.” My
children probably suffer
more from literary nagging
than anyone else’s. I’ve
even been known to
correct and grade the
notes they leave on the
kitchen table.
On the other hand, I
look at the kind of
assignments and papers
they’re doing and realize
they are light years ahead
of what I did at their age
or even of what I taught
twenty years ago. My
eighth grader did a term
paper on Pickett’s Charge
at the Battle of Gettysburg
last spring that put to
shame the most ambitious
paper I wrote in high
school.
My senior did a
comparison of George
Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
and Charles Dickens’ “Tale
of Two Cities contrasting
the authors’ outlook on
p olitical revolution with
insights that I as a college
English major never had to
tackle.
In both instances, the
research and critical
thinking skills demanded
were far more mature than
those required ten or
twenty years ago — a
result of improved
educational methods and
goals.
My experience is by no
means rare. I constantly
hear parents say, “I
couldn’t do that when I
was his age,” or “I’m glad
I don’t have to go to
college today.” Yet, we
tend to judge our kids’
school success by their
spelling, penmanship and
math basic skills. It’s
almost as if we’re saying
we don’t care if they can
think as long as they can
spell and add.
In all the talk of poor
education and functional
illiteracy, I wonder how
many parents would pass
the basic literacy tests
their children take today.
Or how well we would do
on the SAT and ACT tests
which are used for college
entrance. These tests are
tough, a lot tougher than
the ones we had to take to
get out of college.
I wonder if we aren't
being hypocritical in
expecting ever higher
achievement scores and
placement by our children.
Are we asking our schools
to teach our children more
than we were willing or
able to learn? When we
hear of dwindling SAT
scores, do we read on to
discover that more
youngsters are taking it
now than did a decade ago
and that we’re dipping
beyond the group of elite
scholars to the average?
Finally, are we focusing
on our children’s voids
such as poorer spelling and
math rather than on their
more advanced
understanding of physics,
literature and computer
than we faced at their age?
To cite a personal
example, I am in the midst
of studying word
processors with an eye
toward moving from a
typewriter to computeriz
ed writing. Even the
simplest brochures confuse
me. Yet, my 14 year-old
asks me questions like,
“How many K’s of storage
will it hold?” and throws
around words like disk
drives and megabytes.
Maybe he doesn’t know
Latin but this is every bit
as foreign a language to
me.
I get so frustrated that I
want to tell him to go
study his spelling because I
understand that. (He also
points out that spelling
will soon be obsolete
because for $300 you can
buy a spelling program for
any word processor. How
do I respond to that?)
Highly publicized
studies lamenting the state
of education have been
around forever and they
are valuable in that they
keep us from becoming
complacent. But they
don’t serve us if we focus
only on what our children
aren’t learning that we did
rather than what they are
learning that we didn’t.
23rd SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
SEPTEMBER 4, 1983
The blessedness of seeing God is justly promised
to the pure of heart. For the eye that is unclean
would not be ableto see the brightness of the true
light, and what would be happiness to clear minds
would be a torment to those that are defiled .
. . . May your soul gaze serenely upon the great
vision of God.
St. Leo the Great. Pope
AUi soul longs for God
like a doer
for running streams
