Debate: Are you ready to die?

[Jack Daniels]

I am not looking to make this a one vs one debate. Everyone is welcome to chime in...

I think it will be constructive that way if we can be civil.The forum seems to be at a loss of a good debate currently.

I want to stir one up with something that has been on my mind. This will be a kinda long read... But I think that the actual people who want to have a civilized debate will read it through.

A few days ago, I was browsing some pictures on photobucket and came across a picture of a man with most of his face missing.  Yeah, missing.  No nose, upper mouth or most of his forehead.  It had a caption for a website and I became curious.  I visited the site and read the story about him.  Turns out, he developed a rare form of cancer that spread along his face.  The only way he could live was that the doctors had to surgically remove all of the stuff I mentioned earlier that was missing in the picture.  The long, painful, process they had to do after that was surgery after surgery of skin grafts/implants and repairs to his face to make him resemble a human being again.  It has taken an incredible amount of time and money to accomplish this.  The website, is a plea for help because of the amount of debt that has amounted from all the medical expenses incurred. The most current photos of him resemble a human being, but he looks nothing like his former self.  He now has a very fragile face that must be cared for to prevent infection. (and you thought getting the sniffles was bad?)

So, I ask you.  Are you ready to die? Why are we so compelled to put off death as much as possible?  Why do people visit hospitals week after week asking for pills and surgeries to allow them to squeeze another year out of their ailing 90 year old bodies?  This is why health insurance is so expensive... because so many people want to live for so long that they are addicted. Absolutely ADDICTED to avoiding the afterlife.  Where is the justice when some young person dies innocently in a violent car accident while 20 miles away a man is resting in a hospital because all he did was not take care of his body for 40 years yet he wants to live 40 more?  It is this mindset that has made us so vulnerable to expensive doctors bills and 4 out of 10 commercials on TV advertising some drug that will make you better in some way that will ultimately lead to a longer life. Centuries ago... the average lifespan was somewhere to the tone of 30 years old.  Living longer than that was considered extraordinary and different.  People knew that they could very well die at 30 so they accomplished as much as they could within that time.  They made families, raised children, collected wealth, etc etc.  They took advantage of the time that was given to them because it was precious and limited. 

Look at us now?  People lazily put off so many things nowadays because they know they will live tomorrow and the next and the next.  How do they know this? They have faith in medicine and doctors making it all better.  Sure, why not, take your time! Tell somebody you love them next week because we all know you are going to live until then right? .... right?  In the fears thread on GTM some of you listed "death" as something you fear.  Why?  Are you afraid of the afterlife? are you afraid of not being able to be a human again? We, honestly, don't know or understand what happens after you die... so why fear it?  What if it is great? What if you come back and simply try again? What if you just hop onto a different line of time as yourself again and you get to carry on like a universal videogame "continue" option?

So my debate is: Do you think that today's human population is justified in it's desire to live so long?

[Sage]

I'm afraid of death because I have a nagging doubt in my mind that there really is no afterlife. I mean, to die would be to cease to exist. You would just be gone. I don't want that to happen.

[System32]

Do you think that today's human population is justified in it's desire to live so long?

No.
 
"No Death, no Life."
I took this quote because it's true. The wonders of life are pointless without death.
 
I've been writing a story about a dimension that has portals linked with earth, and anyone from any time can be picked and thown into it. Nobody dies there, and the fact everyone is immortal is one of the major subjects.
 
"This is what I call hell. Anything needed becomes a commodity. You could starve an eternity, and the relief of death will never come. I could slice your chest open, and fill it with salt, and you'll have to live with it."
 
I'll embrace it. I don't care. I'm not going to change the world, it's already ****ed.

[Natef]

This is my personal 'idea':

I feel people try to expand their lifespan because they think the wold will be better in the future, to others, death is something they look foreward too, so they won't have to deal with the problems in the future.

This is serious:

I sometimes wish death on myself. I wish that I could see life would be like without me. I am very modest, and don't think too that full of myself. I don't think I am the best at anything, I do doubt I am good at anything. I don't know if I'm good at building bots on RA2, or if I'm 'popular' on Youtube. I have low expectations of myself.

[kill343gs]

People, coupled with their own doubts about the validity of the existence of the afterlife, are also afraid of leaving their families or friends behind. Ever notice they usually come to peace with the idea of actually dying after sitting and talking with their families and in some cases finding god? We as a race are left hanging in our final moments, which can make them very difficult until such an event of "epiphany" occurs.

[Virus Bomb]

A reason that people are afraid of death is that they don't know what to expect when it actually happens. They don't know what it would feel like to die. Another reason would be that death could come at anytime. I could die 80 years from now, or I could die tomorrow.

[russian roulette]

How did I know this would become a thread sooner or later. God's idea is to live life to its fullest, when you die you get more time to finish off that list of amazing things you always wanted to do. So IMO the question should be "Are you ready to live?" because society is caught up in other people's success that instead of wanting to play football with some buddies you are watching the Raiders fail hard with a beer in your hand. If you live longer, then that's an excuse to turn on TMZ to learn some fake bullsh*t about life in the fast lane. I could see listening to music different, but going to every concert or reading a ton of books based on some weird A$$ movie is un-exceptable. In my life I:
1. Was the first to get a job in my school
2. Learn guitar with my own money
3. Go bungie jumping in South America (own money)
4. Get my family out of bankruptcy
5. Get a girlfriend that had the same belief about life as me
6. Win the Syracuse NY Battle of the Bands 2006
7. Graduate Valedictorian of my High School
8. Play Stairway all the way through, all seven minutes, no mistakes.
9. Smash my friends PS3 for the hell of it.
None of these things were caught up with the entertainment of controversy or drama. I am not ready to die a follower, I am ready to live a leader.

[Sage]

^ Nice, more than I have done. Of course, I'm not out of high school yet :P

[Natef]

I don't think I've ever done anything 'amazing'.

[Resetti's Replicas]

I suppose this was directed more towars the older members, but it seems that some of the younger emebers are joing in, so I'm going to go ahead and say... Hell no I'm not ready!  I'm still in college and I hate it; the only thing keeping me going is the promise of reaping the benefits someday; I'm not even considering the posssibility that death could strike  anytime.  I'm keeping myself healthy and out of harm's way of course, but I'm not going all-out to make sure everything would be in order if I suddenly dropped dead.   

Even if I'd done amazing things like Russian, I know I'd always find some new ambition or desire.  Thought it's not nearly as extravagant, my thing is replica building, at this very moment, I am contemplating doing a replica of The Predator; I don't know if I'll "know" when I'm dead, but if I did, I would be pretty sad about not being able to finish it.  As soon as I finish The Predator, another robot will take its place.  As long as I have a replica I want to do, I can't see myself being ready to pass on.

There were over 500 robots in Robot Wars, and I won't be satisfied until I make all the replicas humanly possible.  Not to mention that I'm considering doing those from Robotica, Battlebots, and US robot Wars once I exhaust the British supply.  I have a rough idea of what I can and can't do, but based on what Click has shown us about DSL 3, that game will vastly widen my horizons.

Now, I have bigger goals in life than just this, this isn't my entire life mapped out, but this was the one example that I thought most people would understand, as well as the best for illustating my point.

[trumpetguy]

Nobody is ever ready, everyday a new thing would come, something you haven't done. Thats why people say you have to live life to the fullest. So, no.

[frezal]

I have no reason to believe that there will be any sort of second life after I die. I am perfectly content with this life being my only life. Since this is my only shot at greatness, so to speak, I would like to accomplish many things. To date, there is still much to accomplish, so death will have to hold off for a bit.

[R1885]

To avoid death, one must learn to accept it, for it is only the next great adventure.

[Urjak]

I have a short but sweet idea of life and death. You live life, and live it however you want to. Don't let anyone tell you how to live it, whether they tell you to make the most of it or be easygoing. As long as you enjoy the life you live, that's all that matters.

And in my mind there is no afterlife, so don't plan for one...

[Naryar]

Finally an intelligent thread... there are not a lot of them created these days...

The fear of death - i do believe it exists because of both of our survival instinct plus our fear of the unknown.

Anyways, there are a good bunch of things i would miss and i do not wish to die so soon, but after all is it really worth it living at the fullest and trying to achieve greatness when death will take you one day, sooner or after ? I just think i'll live on, but that last question has no answer from me, so i'm not really afraid of death, though if i degenerate physically or mentally and end as a cripple/idiot, there will be fewer reasons for me to live and i might actively seek death.

And i am not planning on afterlife as well since i have absolutely no reason to believe there is one.

[Stagfish]

on the news not long ago, a Mother killed her son because she wanted him to rest in peace because the Doctors kept him alive as a vegetable.

[Squirrel_Monkey]

on the news not long ago, a Mother killed her son because she wanted him to rest in peace because the Doctors kept him alive as a vegetable.

Huh?

[G.K.]

as in a vegative state for exprriments.

[Stagfish]

it means he cant do anything whatsever, not even think

[Squirrel_Monkey]

Oh, so not as a GM parsnip.