Another groovy California Midwinter Fair
The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin embraced a philosophy that perfectly captures the official Catholic position on human value: the “consistent ethic of life,” more commonly known as the “seamless garment.”
Bernardin’s philosophy came to mind this past week, after six Pennsylvania representatives proposed a bill that would allow the terminally ill to “choose” what they term “death with dignity.”
The legislators – all Democrats but one – noted that advancements in modern medicine have been able to “extend the lives of our loved ones by leaps and bounds,” but that many people with terminal illnesses feel it prolongs “unnecessary suffering when pain management becomes impossible.”
While the legislators promise that it will be limited in scope and application, and that there will be safeguards against encouraging emotionally vulnerable people to prematurely end their lives, it will be extremely difficult to monitor just where that line is drawn.
Beyond that, though, my opposition is personal.
My own father spent a year from his diagnosis with terminal esophageal cancer until his death at the age of 43.
From May to the following May, Ted Flowers fought the hardest battle of a life filled with skirmishes.
I know that some people don’t like the term “fight” used in connection with the terminally ill, but at least in my father’s case, it fits.
He did not want to die, and he tried every modality, possible cure, hopeful — and hopeless — suggestion tendered to him like a rope to a drowning man.
And as his body became increasingly weak, whittled to an unrecognizable husk that barely hinted at the healthy ruddy Irishman I loved, his mind remained sharp.
He wanted to hold on — even through that pain, a pain I cannot imagine — because life was still a precious thing.
I understand that I cannot judge others and their final wishes.
Some people have much lower thresholds for pain than my father, and some simply want to rush into the arms of whatever eternity they imagine, divine or simply oblivion.
That is their right, and I would never tell another being to live their life according to any moral standards they reject.
This is not about religion, even though my own beliefs about the sanctity of life in its alpha and omega stages derive from Catholicism.
But I am afraid that if this bill becomes law, it could dissuade people who might otherwise fight to survive for families and for themselves, to give up.
This, to me, is not a bill that speaks to our compassionate natures. It is something darker, that has its roots in nihilism that says “suffering is bad, life is a proprietary thing that we can dispose of as we wish, and when it no longer serves us or the greater community, it can be extinguished.”
We have already sunk into the most depraved depths in our acceptance of abortion.
To me, what is the most elemental brutality and barbarity is now considered a sacred right, and when that “right” was limited by its de-federalization by the Dobbs decision, there was panic, hysteria, anger, bitterness and vengeful attacks.
The reaction of the women and men who support abortion to the overturning of Roe scared me and shocked me more than I thought I could be shocked.
There was a wild, almost feral aspect to it. That is where we are.
This bill that somehow defines euthanasia as a compassionate thing, and the premature drawing of the curtains as a ‘virtue,’ strikes me as something akin to the idea that ‘ abortion is healthcare.’
Life is a seamless garment, and even those who find themselves at the edges of it, either through illness or age, are still valuable creatures.
Pope St. John Paul II showed us that when he allowed us to watch him die with a dignity those six Pennsylvania legislators could not begin to comprehend.
We can fool ourselves into thinking that giving people a choice to kill themselves, is a kindness.
Many of those reading these lines will be angry that I would even suggest the opposite. But there is nothing kind in helping to end a life before its natural term.
If this bill becomes law, and there is a strong chance that it will pass, we can at least be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that yet another gash in that seamless garment has been made, and the rest is already in tatters.
Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reached at cflowers1961@gmail.com.
If you begin counting now and assume that the 2024 Midwinter Fair start date remains the same, you only have about 353 days to wait. I say this because I am counting the days. Sort of.
We went to the Fair despite a slight decline in the group of friends who usually go together. I was proud of myself for copying the QR code in this newspaper, which transferred to a webpage, where I ordered our tickets. The tickets were the same price as last year as was the parking fee.
We go on Tuesday night, the day after High School Madness. This should be self explanatory if you’ve ever seen High School Madness. There’s plenty of room on Tuesday. The parking lot is far from full — contrasted with Saturday afternoon, when I’m unsure a Fiat 500 would fit. If you go for the rides, the lines are also short on Tuesday.
We focused on a few things but we skipped Balloonacy, the hypnotist, and Washboard Willy. Hey, time is limited, and there is so much to see. I think we participated in Wild Science. Well, my dear wife did. She volunteered for a static electricity experiment. The result was that her long, thick hair stood straight up, and she momentarily looked like an AC/DC rock star whose electric guitar wasn’t grounded. People gathered around to see what would happen to her. She’s game for these sorts of things, but only kids followed to give it a jolt. This fit in with the Fair’s theme which was “Feel the Groove,” and feel the current she did.
Mary and I merely marveled at the different science demonstrations and got busy gathering free pencils, pencil sharpeners, fans, and IVC pennants. And the Farm Bureau was handing out frisbees imprinted with, “Burn a bale, go to jail.” The frisbee fit the hippie theme, but not so much the message. However, the strong presence of law enforcement in the Preble Building backed up the go to jail warning.
By the way, whatever happened to the sumptuous displays of fruits and vegetables in the Preble building? Have local farmers abandoned the Mid-Winter Fair? The other absence was the missing art, craft and food competitions. The fair marketing promised a return to a full Fair. Maybe next year.
The next stop was the Gem and Mineral Society building. The permanent exhibit is wondrous with unusual crystals and rocks that glow in the dark. Thinking back on the magical 1970s, people would often see colorful, glowing rocks. This inadvertently fit the “Feel the Groove” theme, but the real attractions are the gold mining exhibit where optimistic fair goers can pan for gold or purchase a geode at the other end of the building. I took my time choosing a geode, and asked for help from the Gem and Mineral staffer who sold it to me. Then I took it to the man who saws the geodes in half. A small crowd gathered. There’s a drum roll, and we await the big moment when we see inside the geode. It was a beautiful light gray crystal and agate. I sent half to a friend for her birthday. Like, share the groove, man.
We saved the best for last: the animal barns. From goats to funny looking chickens, and the blackest rabbits I’ve ever seen. The 4-H and FFA members were all willing to answer our questions about their animals. Sharp kids. And the mother on barn watch told us an interesting story about their neighbor, a city type, who didn’t like the backyard smell of their three little lambs. Didn’t this guy ever read nursery rhymes? Hey, man, like feel the groove.
We returned home with bags full of pens and pencils, coloring books, and items only found at the California Mid-Winter Fair. On the way out we met a couple of 12-foot tall stilt walkers who carried on a conversation with us. They needed to move constantly to keep their balance. My dear wife’s closing question was, “How do you go to the bathroom?” Fair question.