Why do people (I mean citizens of industrialised nations) insist on prolonged life? So many people seek medical intervention when they get old, or their unhealthy lives catch up with them, or a genetic predisposition to ailments becomes clear. But why?
This excerpt from a Reuters article today is what set my blood boiling:
New U.S. cholesterol guidelines issued on Monday set the lowest level yet for high-risk patients, with recommendations for aggressive use of drugs to get levels down.
The new recommendations also stress no patient should rely on drugs alone to lower cholesterol, but should also take responsibility for the right diet and exercise to keep the heart and arteries healthy.
Living things get old, fall ill, and die: that’s Nature’s cycle. It makes me furious that people like us try to cheat death with “aggressive use of drugs” and medical procedures. Doesn’t “should also take responsibility” sound as if being responsible for your actions is secondary to getting the right medication?
Cripes! Make your choices and live (or die) with them.
I grant that some folks are late bloomers and that numerous key figures in history were bolstered by medical arts. But if they hadn’t survived, we’d be familiar with some other character’s paintings or polemics.
Reasons to accept medical intervention strike closer to home, too. My own father has recently undergone multiple heart surgeries to clear blocked arteries. Both my parents take medication daily to maintain their health.
But neither history nor family changes my mind. I think it’s wrong to meddle with the decay of the body.
I advocate an aggressive sense of mortality.
