The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it.
Arthur Schopenhauer
One thing for sure, youth is revered in our society. It wasn’t always this way; elderly people went from being a beloved source of wisdom to being an age group many people don’t know what to do with. When people in our society reach a certain age, too many of them face rejection, dismissal, and contempt. Many of us can remember our grandparents living with us until they passed on, and they were considered a source of great pride and admiration by the family for their accomplishments.
Why then, do some in our society relegate the aged to the trash heap of substandard care in various nursing homes. One reason could be the general disrespect of all life that seems to run rampant throughout our society. One cannot deny this contempt for the aged is possibly a spillover from the general disrespect of life in the womb, even to the point of a willingness of some to let a baby born alive die of neglect because it was a failed abortion. How long does it take a society who doesn’t care about the life of it’s youngest to not care about the life of it’s oldest?
Of particular danger is combining the above with a broken Social Security system and rising costs of government sponsored healthcare (Medicare and Medicaid). It would be shocking for us to think of these programs being so broken and costly that a suggestion of Euthanasia would be the best choice for an elderly person. But you should understand Euthanasia is already legal in several countries and several states in the United States.
It is therefore important for every person to have a legal document (Advance Directive) that defines the end of life care they expect to receive in the event they are incapacitated and unable to direct their own care. The Catholic Church provides several documents and publications on this matter, and we have linked to them below. Please take the time to read them and use these documents to prepare yours. Get the services of a reputable attorney to make sure any changes you make to the documents comply with Georgia law.
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