lots to think about.

--- [log in to unmask] wrote:

> MITCH ALBOM: Schiavo issue looms larger than all of
> us
>
> BY MITCH  ALBOM
> FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
>
>
>
> As a person of faith, I can speak  to God, but I
> can't speak for Him. I don't
> know His desires for Terri  Schiavo.
>
>
>
> But I bet He can spell her name.
>
>
>
> That's  more than you can say for certain
> politicians, who last week drafted
> a memo to  jump on the Schiavo bandwagon. The memo
> called it an "exciting"
> issue that would  appeal to the Republican
> conservative base, while putting a
> moral squeeze on  Democratic enemies.
>
>
>
> Sadly, in their zeal to get things going,  they
> spelled "Terri" wrong. They
> used one "r." But then, the woman doesn't  really
> matter, does she? It's the
> votes!
>
>
>
> What a world we now  inhabit. In one week's time we
> had a president, who
> vigilantly supports a war  and the death penalty,
> fly to Washington, virtually in
> his pajamas, to "err on  the side of life." We had
> senators like Bill Frist
> make medical examinations  from watching a
> videotape. We had figures like Tom
> DeLay -- whose list of  ethical violations could
> fill a church pew -- accuse
> Schiavo's husband, whom  he'd never met, of being
> the worst kind of louse.
>
>
>
> "What kind of  man is he?" DeLay asked.
>
>
>
> Funny. We were wondering the same thing  about you.
>
>
>
>
> No one should be a political pawn
>
> Last I  checked, politicians were elected, not
> canonized. They were beholden
> to the law,  not a sermon. And while most voters
> appreciate a religious or
> moral code in  their representatives, they are
> sending them to Washington to
> govern America,  not heaven.
>
>
>
> What if Terri Schiavo's parents had wanted her
> feeding tube removed? Would
> we still have Congress rushing to make a law that
> mentions one woman by name?
>
>
>
> Of course not. But why not? If it's  wrong to remove
> that tube, it's wrong no
> matter who wants it done,  right?
>
>
>
> The reason you'd see no action is because there'd be
> no  traction,
> politicians couldn't get a grip, there'd be no
> angle, no hook, no  video, no tearful
> family faces to exploit and -- most important -- no
> activist  groups to offer a
> political windfall.
>
>
>
> The truth is, the Schiavo  case became interesting
> to politicians only after
> Terri's immediate family  aligned itself with
> anti-abortion and Christian
> conservative groups, who used  the issue to
> galvanize their members as well as
> raise  money.
>
>
>
> Members and money mean clout and votes. And suddenly
> --  what a shock --
> politicians care. Suddenly, they're calling judges
> "murderers."  Suddenly, they're
> crafting memos. Suddenly, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush,
> despite doing  nothing for
> years, finds a last-second doctor and wants the
> State of Florida to  commandeer
> Schiavo's care, as if he's God's hand, staying
> Abraham from killing  Isaac.
>
>
>
>
> What would we do?
>
> When I was sitting with  Morrie Schwartz, as he died
> from Lou Gehrig's
> disease, we had a discussion about  the end of his
> life. He told me if he couldn't
> communicate, couldn't tell people  he loved them,
> couldn't hold their hands or
> exchange meaningful thoughts, he  wouldn't want to
> be kept alive. He'd want
> his loved ones to end  it.
>
>
>
> I didn't get it in writing. It was just something we
>  discussed. But I know
> what he said, and I know he was sincere. I wonder
> now, if  Morrie slipped into
> a vegetative state, would a politician claim he knew
>  better?
>
>
>
> In the end, this was a family dispute, an issue
> facing up  to 35,000 families
> right now who have members in similar states as
> Terri  Schiavo. It should
> have stayed that way. It didn't. The real shame is
> that two  parties who claim to
> love Terri Schiavo can't get past their hate for one
>  another.
>
>
>
> Last week, I heard a preacher say, "If it were truly
>  God's will that Terri
> live, she wouldn't need a feeding tube." It makes
> you  realize, if this were
> 100 years ago, we wouldn't have a debate, because
> death  would have already
> come. It also reminds you that these issues are big,
> bigger  than you or me,
> bigger than all of us, and certainly beyond the
> reach of  politicians who can't be
> bothered to get a dying woman's name  right.
>
> Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.
>


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