The Freedom Bulletin

Famous psychiatrist Keith Ablow blogged about an advertising campaign from Final Exit Network, a pro-assisted-suicide organization, which is posting billboards along highways that read “My life. My death. My choice.” Dr. Ablow argues that these billboards could trigger people with depression to commit suicide, and that the organization should be held liable if that happened.

I disagree. All that the billboard says is that people have the right to choose whether to live or die. It doesn’t encourage anyone to kill themselves or say that dying is a better decision than living; it just says that both are valid choices. If someone decides to commit suicide, it means that at that point in time, they believed suicide to be the best option. In my opinion, people have a right to make that decision, even though it is drastic and in some cases might be rash.

People commit suicide because their lives are so miserable that they would prefer death, whether because of a terminal illness, low self-esteem, being tormented or bullied by others, or some other reason. These things are the causes of suicide that need to be solved, not some billboard proclaiming that you have the right to decide for yourself how and when to die (which is true). Billboards do not force anyone to commit suicide, nor can they truly cause suicide, and the creators of such billboards should not be held responsible for anyone’s deaths.

After my (appropriately) depressing post about the election yesterday, I thought I’d recap the few good decisions voters made. Yes, I said that America did the wrong thing on almost every choice, but “almost” is the key word. Here are the few things voters did right:

• It looks like Proposition 8 is going to pass in California! I’m very pleasantly surprised that a state with such a liberal reputation is actually trying to put an end to gay marriage. Marriage is not a right, and the voters have every right to ban it. I hope the state government doesn’t somehow try to overrule the people’s decision like Massachusetts did.
• Arizona and Florida approved resolutions to ban gay marriage, too.
• Nebraska voted to end affirmative action. This discriminatory practice is insulting and unfair to people of all races and genders.
• Washington voted to allow doctor-assisted suicide. Committing suicide does not hurt anyone and is not immoral, so there is no reason why people shouldn’t be allowed to do it if they choose to.
• Colorado rejected an amendment that would define “person” as “any human being from the moment of fertilization.” In philosophy, a person is defined as a rational, autonomous being. Fetuses (and babies, by the way) are therefore not persons, and to define them as such would be contrary to the rules of the English language.

Sorry for not posting sooner; I have many things to say but have been too busy to say them until now. First of all, happy belated birthday to Benjamin Franklin, who turned 300 on Tuesday. Happy birthday as well to Robert E. Lee, the brave, brilliant, and charming Confederate commander-in-chief, who turns 199 years old today!

I did not watch the Golden Globes because “24″ was on at the same time, but I would like to congratulate Hugh Laurie of “House” for his win in the category of best actor in a television drama. The nominations for the BAFTA awards have been announced, and “The Chronicles of Narnia” has been nominated in three categories: costume design, visual effects, and makeup and hair. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is nominated in the same categories, but “Narnia” is better (not by a huge amount, but by a substantial margin), and it is way better than almost any of the other movies that have been nomiated in any category. It’s too bad that “Narnia” wasn’t nominated for best picture or any other categories, but, knowing the bizarre tastes of film critics, I’m slightly surprised that it was nominated for these three categories. If you would like, click for the full list of nominees. Go Narnia!

Now for some Supreme Court commentary: the Court did well with its ruling in the doctor-assisted suicide case. People have a right to die if they want to, since dying isn’t morally wrong. Therefore, they have a right to pay someone to help them die, and doctors have a right to kill someone if that’s what the person told them to do. Why would you pay someone if they weren’t going to do what you told them? On this ruling I actually agree with the liberal judges! What a scary thought!

The Supreme Court justices were sort of wimpy on their ruling about the New Hampshire law that required parents to be notified before minors can get an abortion. This law should be struck down, as it is un-individualistic and imposes an undue burden on minors that do not want a baby. Yes, it was immoral of the minors to get pregnant in the first place (unless they were raped), but getting an abortion is the right thing to do if one is pregnant, since babies are yucky, and it is more moral not to have a baby than to have one. I support abortion because it is a way to mitigate an immoral situation. Another issue on which I side with the liberals! However, my father tells me that I support abortion for fascist reasons, and I like to think that he’s right!

Finally, did I mention Osama bin Laden’s new tape? On Al-Jazeera, Osama declared that he plans to attack the US, but is offering us a truce. It’s the first time he’s been heard from in over a year! I’ve always though he was alive. For the full story, go to CNN.