Question for you Peaceniks.

[Enishi]

From someone on the front lines of life and death in a hospital setting, I have to argue this point. It is one of my frustrations I face on a regular basis. Having every measure taken to keep someone old, infirm, and who will never be off a ventilator or get out of bed is done regularly, because families refuse to let go. We, as nurses and patient advocates try to educate them, the doctors try to tell them, social work gets involved. Sometimes, after months of CCU care, where the room alone is $100,000/day, not to mention the expensive treatments and drugs, they slowly come around to saying "ok, well no CPR then". It is not often enough (IMO), that they make their loved one a "comfort measures only" patient, and even then, it is after a very prolonged time. I heard a doctor who had come here from another country say something like "we come here because of all the resources, why not use them if they are available". So yes, if you are over 80 years old and you have dementia and your kidneys are bad and you already have pneumonia, we'll do open heart surgery on you, because we can. Sorry, I'm getting on a bit of a rant, but, sometimes it seems everybody wants to live forever and wants their loved one to live forever, no matter what. It rarely happens that we get a realistic family that says "you know what, my loved one is 89 years old, their quality of life will never be very good again, medically treat them and keep them comfortable, but no extreme measures. I commend them when I see them.

I work at a hospital and have observed this as well. Its quite frustrating.

IMO, western culture in particular has a very unhealthy attitude towards death, and the interrelated nature of opposites in general. I do hope for a world in which current forms of war and gone, if not greatly reduced, but even then I don't think the world would be free of heartache and conflict.

[hunhee]

And yet everyone has the intense instinct to procreate (except the weirdos).

Hey! who you calling weirdo!?!?

Solution:

Educate

Encourage suicide

Make soilent green

heh soilent green.

OK here's my two and a half cents. We overpopulate, food gets scarce... food gets scarce, we die.. end of story. Population is self regulating.

[Scales]

This thread seems like a "What If" scenario with mixed in realistic aspects about overpopulation. That's what I'm getting from it.

I think the initial idea that every person's life has value would still hold true regardless of an overpopulated environment. In a society where suicide is widely encouraged *and* acted out upon, it's the same as encouraging the symbolism that life has no meaning, along with intelligence, morality, and integrity. In another words, to put it bluntly, everyone who's alive might as well become a killer because either way they'll be mentally slipping due to their reinforced negative references and environment. After all, homicide is the oldest sport.

I look at overpopulation as an actual issue, though it doesn't seem like a heavy mainstream issue yet. I personally don't plan on having kids, though I plan to do more in the future to make sure of it.

[Vater Araignee]

heh soilent green.

OK here's my two and a half cents. We overpopulate, food gets scarce... food gets scarce, we die.. end of story. Population is self regulating.

That is if we don't consume everything first.

[Goth Brooks]

This thread seems like a "What If" scenario with mixed in realistic aspects about overpopulation. That's what I'm getting from it.

It is an extreme "What If" scenario based upon the tree huggers' notion of what the world should be, and yet they have no answer for the outcome of such a dream becoming reality. I didn't even bother adding complete vegetarianism, another issue of theirs.

I look at overpopulation as an actual issue, though it doesn't seem like a heavy mainstream issue yet. I personally don't plan on having kids, though I plan to do more in the future to make sure of it.

I looks at overpopulation as an extremely serious issue. I plan to combat it by having kids, because I'm an extremely intelligent guy and believe that only the intelligent should breed. I'm tired of the geniuses of the world having none to small families while the morons breed like jack rabbits.

[hunhee]

I looks at overpopulation as an extremely serious issue. I plan to combat it by having kids, because I'm an extremely intelligent guy and believe that only the intelligent should breed. I'm tired of the geniuses of the world having none to small families while the morons breed like jack rabbits.

Now you have to find an extremely intelligent woman to have said kids with.

[Enishi]

Have any of you seen the movie Idiocracy? It revolves around this very topic.

Here's the intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upyewL0oaWA

[Goth Brooks]

Now you have to find an extremely intelligent woman to have said kids with.

nomnomnom

[Rev.Reverence]

I looks at overpopulation as an extremely serious issue. I plan to combat it by having kids, because I'm an extremely intelligent guy and believe that only the intelligent should breed. I'm tired of the geniuses of the world having none to small families while the morons breed like jack rabbits.