Goodall Hits the Dust – A poem

David Goodall, a 104-year-old scientist,

decides to call it a day

he asks,

“what is the point of another year of dysfunction

pain and suffering

where I can’t do anything I want to do

and have to watch my body deteriorate?”

 

“Is this what God wants?”

 

If the Catholic Church

declared that rational euthanasia

was moral

and was what God wanted

(He didn’t want people to suffer for no reason)

 

and allowed dying Catholics

to go to confession, mass

and receive communion

before the patient opened the flood gates

of terminating drugs

 

thus ending his life

with the hope of eternal life

and with the blessings of the Church,

the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit

 

If this was a new encyclical

there would be a rush

of euthanasia

and many other religions and denominations

would probably follow suit

 

and, as always,

an anti-thesis would arise

and many other religions and denominations

would protest this encyclical

as the height of immorality and evil

 

but nooooooooo

The Catholic Church will probably

never condone euthanasia

 

They believe “once true, always true”

and neither Jesus nor previous popes ever said

that euthanasia was ok

 

Only God can make the decision

when to live and when to die

 

Goodall continues:

“I don’t believe in an afterlife

And have no problem in ending the last chapter.

I lived the miracle of existence

and that’s good enough for me”

 

“And who are you to tell me when and how I should die?

If I can encourage my wife to have an abortion

that is, we both have a right to choose

whether the kid lives or dies

After all, it is her body”

 

“Then why can’t I have the right to choose

whether this deteriorating body of mine

lives another year or not?

Am I responsible for my body or not?

Is there religious freedom or not?”

 

Some liberal laws state that

euthanasia is only for the competent —

those who can make an authentic,

free-will decision

 

those who are out of it

or too feeble to make that decision,

well,

they will just have to suffer

and let the doctors fulfill their

legal and ethical obligation

to sustain the patient’s life as long as possible

regardless of her pain and suffering

or the wallet of the taxpayers

 

Goodall didn’t believe in an afterlife

 

Bertrand Russell, one of the top philosophers

of the 20^th century

and an avowed and assertive atheist

was once asked,

if there was a God

and you met Him after you died

what would you say?

 

Russell responded with,

“I’d tell Him

you didn’t give me enough evidence”

 

Perhaps God would see Russell

as a smart ass

 

Perhaps if there is a God

and Goodall meets Him

God will say,

Ahhhhh, you didn’t do so bad with your life

So come on in

 

But the anti-thesis will state

“that God may say

to hell with you”

 

And this is why

many people will suffer

take the drugs, chemo-therapy.

radiation, and surgery

 

And let death take its good ole time