The Five Most Deplorable Wastes of Human Life
God created life and therefore it is precious. It should not be
taken away without just cause. It should not be endangered in a
flippant or careless manner. It should be nurtured and protected
to the fullest extent of the law. All too often, though, human
life is treated as expendable by governments and average
citizens alike. Convenience, pleasure, revenge, power, politics,
and even outright indifference sometimes get a higher priority
than human life. Due to those kinds of attitudes, human life is
wasted on a daily basis. Every waste of human life is shameful,
but there are five particularly deplorable ways in which it is
destroyed. I would like to briefly discuss each of them. (1)
Abortion. If abortion is not a deplorable waste of human life,
there aren't any. Obviously, there are exceptions like cases of
rape, non-consensual incest, and situations in which the life or
health of the mother is at stake. Abortion for any other reason
is nothing but legalized murder. No, convenience is not a
justifiable reason for snuffing out the lives of unborn children
before they get a chance to take their first breath. Feminists,
Planned Parenthood, N.O.W., liberals, and those who are too
spineless to speak up for what is right can call it a "woman's
choice" issue all they want, but it doesn't change the sad
reality. Yes, I do believe women should have control over their
own bodies, including reproductive rights, but that's not the
issue here. In fact, that whole argument is a red herring. Women
can choose to not get pregnant. Whether through abstaining from
sex or using reliable methods of birth control, it's their
choice. Taking another human life, on the other hand, should not
be a choice that's available to any individual in a civilized
society. (2) Unnecessary wars. There's nothing sadder than
reading or hearing the names of young, vital, and talented young
men and women who have been cut in down in the prime of their
lives in a war that did not have to be fought. Sometimes wars
are unavoidable. Often, there are evil aggressors in the world
who won't respond to anything but brute force. In those cases,
not fighting a war could ultimately cost more lives than
actually fighting it. However, many times there are viable
alternatives to war, such as diplomatic maneuvers and
containment. No war should ever be fought until all of those
options have been exhausted. Unfortunately, there are leaders
all over the world who are, at times, determined to go to war,
regardless of the other available options. Political ambition or
the drive to enhance their popularity at home often prompts
leaders to send their young citizens off to war. Greed and the
drive to seize more territory are motivating factors for other
heads of state. Others are driven by bogus intelligence and
unsubstantiated fear into fighting preemptive wars. Still others
are well-intentioned individuals who honestly believe their war
efforts are making the world a safer place. They seem to forget
that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." (3)
Executions of non-violent offenders. Many countries around world
impose the ultimate sanction on those found guilty of crimes
that range from drug possession to adultery. Even many countries
that have never been guilty of this practice sometimes appear to
condone it. I can understand any country wanting to show its
displeasure with certain types of crimes, even though they may
not involve violence. I can also appreciate the fact that even
some types of non-violent crimes are particularly heinous and
that there are requirements for strong deterrents to them.
However, committing any act of violence (execution, torture,
etc.) against a non-violent offender is completely unethical and
immoral and never justified. Non-violent offenders, unlike many
of their violent counterparts, can usually be rehabilitated. If
justice, not rehabilitation, is the goal, then they can be
sufficiently punished with prison time. (4) HIV/AIDS. Deaths
from this disease are so regrettable because they are so
preventable. The extremely sad part is that there are innocent
victims like children and those receiving blood transfusions,
who contract this pernicious disease through no fault of their
own. While those who get it as a result of their own risky
behavior deserve our sympathy, they are not innocent victims,
despite what the liberal media might have us think. No one has
to get HIV/AIDS. The spread of the disease could be completely
halted if people would only start making the correct decisions,
i.e., to not do illegal drugs and to postpone sexual activity
until marriage. Yes, for those who cannot control their own
desires, "safe sex" should be emphasized. However, it is never
as foolproof as abstinence. Now, granted, in some third world
countries, many people lack the education required to make these
decisions. We should be willing to spend the necessary money to
make sure they get that education, if it will help abolish the
scourge of this disease from our world. However, I can't help
believing that most people know better, but just don't care. The
fleeting pleasure of immoral sexual activity and illicit drugs
is more important to them than their own health and the health
of the world community. (5) Drunk/irresponsible driving.
Everyone makes mistakes while driving (or doing anything else).
People will occasionally become distracted, momentarily look
away from the road, fail to properly monitor their mirrors, etc.
Sometimes those mistakes have deadly consequences. However, I
don't consider deaths from the occasional and inevitable mistake
to be among the most shameful wastes of human life. What I'm
talking about here is intentional and/or habitual behavior that
leads the loss of life. People continue to get behind the wheel
after drinking too much, despite being warned over and over
again about the dangers. Others just have to drive at least ten
miles per hour over the posted speed limit, no matter what. They
don't seem to understand the fact that how they arrive at their
destination is more important than when they get there. Still
others feel the need to constantly drive aggressively and take
unnecessary risks. People who practice those kinds of behavior
are accidents waiting to happen. Deaths resulting from those
accidents are so lamentable because they could all be avoided
with a little patience and common sense.