It would seem a lot easier to fix something that is just starting to crack...than to repair a system so weak that it is on life support or in the bankruptcy courts. But the opposite is often the case. Though it seems that problems can be easier to solve when the losing streak is not so long and the cycle of decline not too advanced there also can be more resistance to the idea of significant change when the situation is not dire. The truly sick are desperate for any solution and too helpless to resist. It is more permissible and a great deal easier at extremes of distress (though less humane) to slash, burn, destroy, cut, lay off, and start over again. Under extreme distress, extreme distress can be taken; the truly obese get their jaws wired shut to prevent uncontrolled food intake, while the merely overweight must struggle through diets.

---from Confidence: Why Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, pp. 160-161, emphasis mine

Before It's Too Late...

It would seem a lot easier to fix something that is just starting to crack...than to repair a system so weak that it is on life support or in the bankruptcy courts. But the opposite is often the case. Though it seems that problems can be easier to solve when the losing streak is not so long and the cycle of decline not too advanced there also can be more resistance to the idea of significant change when the situation is not dire. The truly sick are desperate for any solution and too helpless to resist. It is more permissible and a great deal easier at extremes of distress (though less humane) to slash, burn, destroy, cut, lay off, and start over again. Under extreme distress, extreme distress can be taken; the truly obese get their jaws wired shut to prevent uncontrolled food intake, while the merely overweight must struggle through diets.

---from Confidence: Why Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, pp. 160-161, emphasis mine

As Terry Schiavo is ending...

I would argue that the term "life support" is a red herring in this case. While, as I say, Terri is on life support in the broad sense of the term, saying that she is on "life support" evokes in listeners the same response as if referring to the narrower definition of a person on life support: someone who is essentially dead but for the machinery that keeps their body functions working.

Here's the thing: the Pope is hooked to a breathing tube, and now he may have a feeding tube installed as well. Is he on life support? Yes--arguably more so than Terri Shiavo. But we wouldn't suggest that his feeding and breathing tubes would be removed, because the Pope's mind is still functioning and he can communicate (granted, they say these tubes "aid" the Pope in breathing, but it seems to me they would probably do most, if not all, of the work). So this is really about Terri's mind and her husband's word; "life support" as a term in this case is little more than rhetoric.

[via The Eagle and Child]

When you're at someone's mercy, they had better be either fairly wise or fairly omnipotent at times.

As the Terry Schiavo case slowly ends...

To determine your position, I offer up a few hypotheticals:

1. Assume all facts are the same, but Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers agree that the feeding tube should be removed.

2. Assume all facts are the same, the Schindlers oppose the feeding tube removal, but Terri Schiavo left a detailed living will that specified she would want the feeding tube removed if she were in a persistent vegetative state.

3. Assume that Michael Schiavo has remained completely faithful to his wife all these years, but still testifies that she told him she would want to die in these circumstances, and the Schindlers still oppose him.

If your opinion switches from opposition to support in these hypotheticals, then your opposition is based on the circumstances in this case. So ask yourself: do you really think that you know more about the case from the media coverage and court documents than the judges who actually reviewed all the evidence? It's one thing to acknowledge that the judicial system has the occasional flaw; it's quite another to say that over a dozen judges have actively ignored evidence that proves Michael Schiavo wants to end his wife's life on a whim.

If you still oppose the removal of the feeding tube in these hypotheticals, then you presumably oppose all decisions of this nature. However, the courts have applied the law as it is currently written. Why not work to change the laws, rather than believe, despite all the review, that Terri Schiavo has been denied due process or is the victim of activist pro-death judges

[via Football Fans for Truth]

Last but not least, this Easter, don't forget the Easter Seals

Where and what is Justice?

This Easter, reflect on our understandings of injustice. To use the example of Terry Schaivo:

Here's the part I don't get: why the parents and the husband are fighting so hard.

Consider from the husband's perspective:

Your wife is essentially dead, a corpse kept going by machines. You know or are reasonablly certain that she would not have wished to remain in this state. You need to move on with your life. You've got a girlfriend, whatever money you might have gotten from insurance is long gone, so it's just about what your wife wants. It is perfectly reasonable to talk to the doctors about pulling the plug. This type of thing happens all around America every day.

Or consider from the parents' perspective:

Your daughter lays in a hospital bed, in a coma. A man wants to starve her to death. You're willing to pay every expense to keep her alive, and unwilling to let her go.

Both seem reasonable enough, but both are actually- as far as I can tell -insane.

[Thanks Boar's Head Tavern for the link!]

This Easter...is there no blood on your hands?

can you identify the persecuted?

will you reimagine Christianity?

Routine can be just a way to compromise between legitimacy and confidence.

Ankle surgery done. It involved 6 screws and 1 plate. It took an 8 hour wait until then, but I got it done. Now comes the challenge of the next 6 weeks.

Special thanks go out to Carol for driving me to the hospital (and LT for trying!). Also thanks to Jayson and Estelle for picking me up after this long day and enduring me for awhile (I just didn't want to go home in the state I was in).