An American Expat in Southeast Asia

The Crossing of the Rubicon


"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." - Hebrew Proverb

On 31 March 2005 at 9:05am Terri Schiavo died. Terri Schiavo, unable to feed herself was denied any food or water for fourteen days until she finally died of starvation and neglect. To no avail, Terri's parents and family had begged for her life to be spared as a macabre drama was played out in the court with the sole intent of dehumanizing her to the point where her murder by the State could therefore be justified.

But it must be noted that murder and death by misfortune are not synonymous, for just three months earlier the resources of an entire world were called upon to in an urgent attempt to counter nature's Malthusian checks in the form of the earthquakes, tsunamis and their after effects that had struck Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

As Terri laid in her bed starving to death, those who had called for her death claimed that by neglecting her and starving her to death we were simply allowing nature to take it's course. What was it then that prevented us from allowing nature to simply take it's course in Southeast Asia?

While we are able to escape future admonishment for the deaths of those who suffered from the earthquake, tsunami and their after effects. It is the blood of Terri Schiavo that we will never be able to wash from our hands.

With our heightened concerns of overcrowding and overpopulation in the world today, where is the logic in trying to prevent or stymy the Malthusian checks of nature and yet continue unabated to commit murder and/or induce others to murder in the in the form of abortion and euthanasia?

History has shown us that abortion and euthanasia are the forerunners of death camps and eugenics and yet seemingly in a state of nescience, the unwitted advocates of totalitarianism continue to promulgate both abortion and euthanasia as enlightened concepts of progression. Have we become so arrogant and pompous as a society that we would fail to acknowledge and learn from our own history? The murder of Terri Schiavio will not soon be forgotten, and now in retrospect, it might be viewed in the future as one the seminal events in our history that hallmarked the quickening of the massacre of our undesirables.

Our respect for the sanctity of life has in the past, and has always been our greatest protection from the ultimate tyranny of an all-powerful state and yet in recent years we seem to have willingly subjugated ourselves by allowing the State to become the ultimate arbitrator in determinations of who is worthy of life and who is not. Having elevated the State on such a pedestal, we have in essence charted our own destiny, we have chosen the path that will ultimately lead to our own peril.

In the years ahead, as the world tries desperately to cope with population increases, demographic imbalances, unemployment, and both external and internal threats from quasi-fascist movements such as Islamic fundamentalism it will be social order and stability that will become of paramount importance to many people, much more so than liberty or freedom. Having already placed their lives in the omnipotent hands of the State, is it really such a leap of logic for one to foresee that individuals in the near future will think nothing of sacrificing freedom for security?

Not unlike the countries in Southeast Asia, America and the West will seriously have to consider implementating further authoritative measures within our own societies in the near future to deal with the revanche of Islamic fundamentalism should we fail to address the political aspirations and aspects of Islam now.

Simultaneously punishing and placating the adherents of Islamic fascism achieve nothing. It is not insults and intolerance that fuel the fires of fascism, it is our appeasement and our own self-abasement that provide fuel for the fire.

There are those I am sure who will disagree. Those that will herald our recent achievements and go so far as to say that victory is at hand. If our objective is to secure an unstable atmosphere of tranquility then perhaps victory is at hand but if our objective is to secure an everlasting peace then it would require a further resolve that has so far been lacking.

A recent essay by Victor Davis Hanson entitled "Western liberalism is the only idea left standing" might lead one to believe that we can rest on our laurels, that democracy, freedom and liberty have finally prevailed and that only the dying embers of communism and fascism remain. I would put it to Mr. Hanson that perhaps his projections on the impending deaths of communism and totalitarianism might actually be a bit premature.

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