Is it worse to take a life or to ruin one?
The fact that I differentiate between the two is reason to pause. I used to believe that taking someone's life was one of the most atrocious things a person could do. Now, I don't put much creed in religion in general, which has lead me to come up with my own faith. Well, not a faith, really. Just a general belief that holds some weight with me.
The animosity and disparities between religions have lead me to believe that no one is right. No one is wrong, but no ONE is right. It seems selfish - a rather human emotion, one I wouldn't expect to find in any deity who makes it a point to differentiate between his/her/themselves and humans - to select a chosen few to be the 'true believers', the rightful and righteous who are the only ones to deserve eternal salvation and protection and whatnot.
From that stemmed a question: what do all humans have in common? My brain supplied the simple answer - to live. Not to live well, to live comfortably, or to live long, but to live at all. And that's pretty damn important.
So I used to believe that taking someone's life was something unforgivable and utterly horrible. And I still think that. Granted, if it's by way of self-defense or protection of someone else, it's more often than not justifiable. Everything else that falls outside those bounds are usually seen as unwarranted and immoral, not to mention illegal. But I digress.
Would it be worse to have one's life taken or to have one's life ruined? And I don't mean in the sense of losing your love or a limb, or something - which isn't to say these aren't awful or terrifying, and as I've never experienced either, I have no valid opinion and plenty of bias.
But when faced with more dire situations - rape, death, poverty? Indeed, a situation in which many who found themselves would prefer death.
Of course, I've now asked two entirely different questions: which would be worse to commit, and which would be worse to endure. I've not a solid answer for either, but it's certainly food for thought.
'I don't want to follow death and all of his friends
and in the end
we lie awake and we dream of making our escape.' - 'Death and All of His Friends', Coldplay
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