Dignity and death

Two things happened in the last week to spark this blog post. First, there was a death of someone I didn't know but had heard about vaguely. His name was Dave Duerson and he played football in the National Football League. He then became a successful businessman. Last week he killed himself with a self inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

There will be much speculation about Duerson's death and what it means for football. Much will be made about Duerson's personal finances. He had recently filed personal bankruptcy. He also made arrangements for his brain to be studied to document and catalogue the affects of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and his gunshot wound to the chest ensured that his brain would be intact for the study. He went to great lengths to plan his suicide.

The second event to occur was that i finally sat down to watch 2012 which of course is a movie about the end of the world. Briefly, a scientist in India discovers the world is coming to an end. A big cover-up ensues while governments of the world engage in a massive ark building endeavor in order to save mankind.

Of course, the US government being well the US government, it decides to sell seats on this ark to the highest bidders. We become acquainted with one such fella who pays a billion Euro's for a seat for himself and his twin sons. This family is not so nice either. This worldwide endeavor also resolves not to inform anyone until after the "chosen ones" have been transported to safety. After all, we can't let the masses know of their own destruction until all they can do is wait to die in the fiery aftermath. Of until they drown in the inevitable flood that will come and wash away the destruction.

Which leads me to pose the following: What would you do if you were one of the unlucky ones who didn't have a billion Euro to buy yourself a seat on the lifeboat? Would you prefer to wait for the looming destruction and die in an unfathomable and likely violent manner? Or would you prefer to choose how you depart from the life you know?

And if you think you should have a choice in that situation why shouldn't you have the choice if you are Dave Duerson?