X-Message-Number: 19500 From: "Mark Plus" <> Subject: Devaluing Ted's life Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 15:31:29 -0700 I'm bothered by the message, usually implicit, in the the snide commentary in the media about Ted Williams's cryotransport that Ted would only be worth resuscitating if he could resume the sort of baseball career he had 60 years ago, which is clearly unlikely now. Funny, but I thought it's unethical to view human lives as means for the selfish convenience of others, rather than as ends in themselves provided that they behave towards others in socially acceptable ways. As Mike Perry likes to point out, a life rightly lived cannot be rightly terminated. Ted Williams deserves cryotransport regardless of whatever sort of productive career he had in life, because he demonstrated that his life has value in itself. Although I don't follow baseball, apparently his abilities provided a lot of baseball fans an experience of pleasure they voluntarily paid to see. He also served to defend the U.S. during the Second World War, but somehow his participation in "the greatest generation" isn't getting the sort of appreciation it deserves, either, even though he sacrificed a considerable amount of income during his military service. It's an open question whether a revived, resuscitated and presumably enhanced Ted Williams could identify and pursue productive new goals in life, but I am more than willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. Perhaps there is some kind of class snobbery at work here. Baseball isn't that important in the scheme of things, and it's a blue-collar pastime any way, so there's really nothing about Ted Williams worth saving apart from his signed sports memorabilia -- which can be exchanged for money. Mark Plus _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19500