Serious Discussion-Stress and Psych Disorders — Page 9

My goodness! How beautiful, Mistress.
Thank you for sharing.

You know, I've realized that some of us (basically me) kind of threadjacked the topic pretty early on today.

Termination of treatment is at a very different spot than assisted suicide on the continuum, and while I'm supportive of assisted suicide, I still am grappling with where the parameters should be.

It's similar to my feelings about abortion. I am avidly pro-choice, but my commitment starts to waiver in the case of late term abortions. I support them when the mother's life is in danger, and in a situation where a devestating fetal abnormality is determined late in the pregnancy, but I have a hard time embracing late term abortions for no other reason than delayed decision making.

OK...does that make me sound conflicted enough for one day?

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Mistress, I had a somewhat different story, with a very similar ending. My father had seizure a about a year and a half ago, where he passed out, and hit his head - he was far sicker than any of us realized (he was only sixty eight) and the blood thinners he was only only made matters worse.

I had all of the documentation in order, including a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, and an Advanced Directive.

My father did not want to be kept alive by artificial means, as had happened to my grandmother and great aunt. While he was still conscious, he awoke hooked up to a myriad of machines giving me "what the f$ck is going on here, you know I don't want this" look and tried to pull everything out. I explained to him that they thought that they could make him better, and that was the only reason he was hooked up to the machines, and to squeeze my hand if he understood. Thankfully, he did.

Unfortunately, he was too weak, and soon it progressed to pnemonia - and then soon, his heart, which was already weak, could not take the extra burden. By this time, the entire family, our Rabbi who was out of town and was very close to my father, and many of his friends had been able to visit him and show their love. Most important was his ability to visit with our Rabbi, who loved my father like a brother, and my father loved him in the same way.

We told the hospital not to make an extraordinary efforts to prolong his life, but to keep him comfortable. We were called at 4:30 in the morning by the hospital - where my mother, my two sisters, and both of my brothers-law sat as a family as said goodbye to him six days after he had the seizure. We all got to kiss him goodbye and have a private moment with him.

I feel we were blessed in so many ways - mostly in that we got to say goodbye as family. I feel that I was blessed in that he understood that I would never let him linger like that unless there was a realistic hope of him getting better. I do not know if I could have lived with myself if my last memory would have been him thinking I had somehow betrayed his wishes.

Updated On: 1/23/06 at 08:53 PM

Another thought provoking series of discussions.

As it is another day, do we have a new topic yet?

Good suggestions! Any of those should make for a fun discussion of the day.

Since *you* started this, it's *your* call.

BTW, this is my new favorite thread. I love it! I hope this continues to become a board tradition, and continues to be a place to discuss things with insight, maturity and a lack of snarkiness.

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Or just the evolution of cartoons in general, all the way from the early Disney films to the Adult Swim features of today.

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*tries to think of something light for the serious discussion thread*

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Elmer Fudd was a commie.

well, duh, somms.

i dunno, stage, i think that political cartoons per se are pretty clear with their statements and they don't really try to hide any biases, i mean look at some of ted rall's stuff or on the other side the stuff at cox & forkum. it's pretty clear which side of the fence those folks are on and i think the even though some of the editorial cartoons are like late night talk show hosts, equal opportunity abusers of politicians, that like everywhere else in the country that the line between right and left has become more clearly defined in recent years in the realm of political cartoons.

what i was more interested in was mainstream animated cartoons and how they have been used through the years to portray various socio-political positions.

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Sometimes Political Cartoons have been subversive and it is that ability to hide and play off the notion that it is "only a cartoon" that is all that allowed the creator to continue to work.

Political cartoonists have long been at the forefront of social movements. Although there have often been a significant share of right wingers to trash and denounce any social change. The great effect is that it is popular art, and art that works on many different levels, at once touching, funny and angering.

The art of newspaper comics in general is a fascinating subject. From the Yellow Kid and Mutt and Jeff to the conservative nature
of Little Orphan Annie. Dick Tracy and Lil' Abner's casual social commentary. The elegant pathos of Peanuts. The political staging of Doonesbury. The philosophy of the Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes. So much to think about there.

Then there are the comic books, patriotic tripe like superman and Captain America, balanced by subversive vigilantees like Batman. The macarbe Tales from the Crypt. Modified to camp in an attempt to control the artistic expression then modified again to worthless visual drivel. But then the Graphic Novel arrises
Art Spiegelman's MAUS is quite simple a masterpiece of literature.

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So...is that the consensus for the day? Political cartoons? I could be happy with that. And obesity is also a great topic. How about that one tomorrow?

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