Recent media accounts of the ill-fated, deep water bathyscaphe, “THE TITAN,” and its tragic victims, effected for us, a reprise of our long-standing feelings, concerning the tendency of some members of the anthropological category, Homo sapiens, to evince, a foolish, perhaps, immoral, desire to put at risk, their given, singular franchise of life. Sky diving, race car driving, spelunking, passenger space travel bungee jumping and the like, may serve certain idiosyncratic needs of the participants but ungratefully, and we feel, depravedly, put the inestimably, precious element of “life,” at risk.
Considering the multitude and variety of living things on Planet Earth, from amoeba to aster, chrysanthemum to cactus, and gorilla to giraffe, the salient drive and aspiration are for life. To further life, animals and birds will migrate, globally, for food, certain insects and reptiles will, defensively, evince bright colors which warn of poison, porcupines and roses have painful barbs to discourage attack, many species of fauna have camouflage features for protection from predators, others have defensive claws and sharp incisor teeth. Inarguably, with respect to all of Mankind’s planetary fauna and flora, it is, empirically and eternally, true, that the most fundamental, function or drive is the protection of the precious franchise of life.
Accordingly, the most onerous and punitive criminal retribution, is reserved for homicide, the intentional taking of life. Unfortunately, in many States, the atavistic punishment of the death penalty is still imposed, albeit, arguably, inconsistent with the planetary commitment to preserve life.
For the moment, we would, briefly, modify the theme of this essay, to a somewhat, related subject; that of the individual’s aspiration for the attainment of ultimate happiness. We have, in earlier writings, declared that, observably, personal evaluative judgments, including that of attaining (or, failing at) the feeling of general happiness are internal. The accumulation of expensive assets, viz., large residences, showy automobiles, pools, motorcycles, helicopters, money has certain advantages and can serve the purpose, as desired, of the demonstration of material success; yet, the acquisition of assets, however substantial, does not anecdotally, equate with the feeling of personal happiness. These physical assets are showy and possibly, prestigious, but are external, and may, indeed, have limited effect on the internal sense of ultimate happiness.
It has been our observation that one’s ultimate feeling of personal happiness, is, doubtless, an inner, accrued, perception of the attainment of self-fulfillment. In the life-long, private conversation with oneself, a rational comparison between, “the hand that has been dealt to you,” and your personal growth and achievements, in later life, constitutes the telling calculation. It is not what you own, or, have done, per se, but rather, what you have become, (i.e., what you are, now), that is the empirical and rational measure.
Regarding our initial subject of the invaluable and reverential franchise of life, it is logically and empirically possible to live a fulfilled and perfectly, satisfactory life (“happiness”) without putting to the test, your capacity to overcome the element of fear in a bathysphere, rocket ship, or your extent of courage at the edge of an active volcano. These are useless and irrational endeavors, and, most significantly, done at the frightful, costly and irresponsible, risk of the cancellation of one’s singular franchise of life. Rationally, successful survival in such endeavors does not mitigate the profound ungratefulness and the profound immorality of the casual and foolhardy choice of life-threatening, behavior, There are untold numbers of infirm people, relegated to hospice care, who would earnestly, desire to have an extension of time, regarding the implementation, of Nature’s decreed sentence of mortality.
-p.
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