Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Editor, Times-Union:
Recent celebrity suicides were unexpected. There are various reasons why people take their lives. With abortion considered a right, sanctity for life is degraded. If you thought your existence was only a choice your mother made and not ordained by God, you might wonder if there was a purpose for your existence.
I'm a born-again Christian and know that God has some purposes for my life which motivate me to serve Him to the best of my ability and to the best of God's ability to help me. I will write material and compose music which pleases Him until the day I die or he raptures me away. I'd love to go to Russia to have my music performed, and ending my life prematurely would make no sense.
Many people seem to value the lives of animals more than that of humans. Years ago there was a major forest fire and three firefighters died because there was a delay in getting water from a river due to an endangered species of fish. I called Ted Kennedy's office and asked if he would never violate the endangered species act for any reason. When the staffer said Kennedy would never violate the act, I told him that the senator valued the lives of fish more than humans. I expected the staffer to be angry. But when liberal philosophy conflicts with reality, reality becomes the brutal victor.
People in the arts are often sensitive and one bad review can lead to suicide. Many think they have reached the mountaintop of fame and there's nowhere to go but down. They feel ending life on top is better than outliving fame and becoming a trivia answer.
If you have more reasons to live than to die, you are less likely to commit suicide. One bad day shouldn't sacrifice 1,000 good tomorrows. If you can't afford to miss out on what may happen when you're 100, don't let anything divert your attention from the goals you want to achieve which will generate other goals which depend on you embracing life to its fullest. Life is too short as it is compared with an eternity of continued existence. Life is the rehearsal for forever.
Charles Krauthammer has been paralyzed for years and has been told he only has weeks to live. Aggressive immunotherapy might save his life and destroy the cancer that is killing him. He wants to live life fully to its end. Any life that God allows to exist is not expendable or just a choice.
Ironically, we fought a war against those that thought life was expendable and chose who should live or die. Those type of people are now praised by the left and one, Hillary, almost became president.
Rick Badman
Warsaw
