Read on Twitter
Some people on my feed have been pointing out that Emanuel doesn't advocate for euthanasia (& in fact explicitly states he's opposed to it). The thing is, what's troubling about his position is more fundamental, a view of what makes life meaningful or robs it of meaning. https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1325865699533856768
He points out that in our day, we're more likely both to "live longer" AND "be incapacitated" than our elders were, & argues throughout that there's no benefit to this period of being elderly, disabled, & (as he sees it) without quality of life.
I realize that we all must have relatives who, in their old age, experienced mental & physical declines that were distressing to both them & their families. I hope we can acknowledge that & not paint an idyllic picture of aging free from suffering or complication.
But I wonder if, when people express such opinions about disability, they consider that there are plenty of disabled 10, 20, 30, 40-year-olds reading these takes, & who value their lives immensely despite the noise of abled people suggesting they'd be better off dead.
& I wonder if we can do more to look beyond physical & intellectual abilities – & even more so beyond an ideal of independence – when trying to define what makes a meaningful human life. Such ideals simply don't reflect the full reality of what makes us human.
That someone needs care does not make their life less worthy. Rather, it points directly to a truth about each person, abled or disabled, that we're inherently vulnerable, dependent, & needy, & that none of these attributes can rob us of our inherent worth & dignity.
This is a deeply uncomfortable point & I realize that to post this is cheap, while to living it is quite another thing. Still I believe it. Our society is designed to allow the majority of us, while we're well, to forget it. That design has serious existential consequences.
