The Greater Victims of of the ‘Disposable Society’

As I read Nora Chavez’s letter (March 16) about the “Disposable Humans”, I understood why she stood on the position she did and I agree with her view that the public, while requiring the government to spend more money for the poor, does not itself support the idea of helping the helpless anymore.

And I too am angry. But I am not as angry at the plight of the poor as much as I am angry at the plight of those who are the greater victims of this disposable society--those with “meaningless” lives. This group may include the poor, but especially I am thinking of the handicapped, the mentally retarded, the “vegetables,” and the unborn.

All of these people are in a state of limbo within this “disposable society,” for public opinion is just now being turned against them. A trend against them was started in January, 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortions are allowed for any reason in the first trimester. This started a thought process in the mind of the public that human life isn’t as important as we had once thought.

Now, if a pregnancy is inconvenient or just not practical, then go out to a clinic, and have your child thrown away. So very simple, and right in line with our fast-food mentality. The idea of the child being human life is no longer questioned--even by those who perform the abortions--instead the selfish idea of convenience controls the abortion theory and the American mind.

As the years passed, many more excuses for abortion popped up. Down’s syndrome, handicapped children, poverty and child abuse were all used as acceptable ways to the abortion clinic, and with each excuse human life was lessened in importance. Now these lives are seen as “meaningless” and without use, and to those who agree with this idea a “meaningless” life is better not lived at all.

Soon the ones with life but no “life” were thought of. Lives began being unplugged. Babies whose lives were useless were allowed to starve, and human life was brought down another notch.

Where will this trend stop? Will we start emptying the group homes where the developmentally disabled live? Will we kill off our families when they are no longer able to work? Will we pass a bill stating that no “meaningless” life should be allowed to live? Will we start shipping off the poor and helpless to the showers with gas in the nozzles? And I can not imagine American ingenuity stopping there. After all, we have all of this meaningless life--what can be done with it? Experimentation? Recycle the bodies into food? Who knows what the American mind will think of next?

We saw where this trend started, but when will it stop? There may be some reading this letter who do not think that it should stop. I respect your opinion--as an opinion and nothing else. Instead, I believe that this trend must take a reverse stride. We must realize that all human life, no matter how useless it may seem, is meaningful. Each person has a right to live, a right to feel joy, a right to feel pain--even if the person can not analyze these rights, knowing whey he feels pain or joy. We must allow life to bel lived.

And so I cry with Chavez. And I pray that she cries with me. Our desires are really the same, for we both want to help those who can not help themselves. And we both see the need for a change in public opinion to allow help to be given. Let us both cry for the fallen race of man.

STEVE KIMES

Tustin