Are you afraid to die?

[pooja]

I have to admit that I am not afraid to die. There are certainly ways that I wouldn't like to expire, such as long-term illness or torture, but I am not afraid to die. There are so many ways that a human life is fragile. We are a resistant strain of bacteria no doubt, but there is are a few strong doses of penicillin out there that will destroy us. Statistically, we are more harm to ourselves than others are to us. We smoke, over eat, practice unsafe sex, have babies, drive, jump out of airplanes, climb mountains... the list goes on.

With all the talk over the last few days, I've realized that people are very afraid to die. Maybe it is time to stop and reflect on our happiness meters. Have we been so pre-occupied with things that we forgot how to live? Why are terrorist willing to die for their cause? Why are they convinced that sacrificing themselves will be for the greater good of their world? Does bringing violence to the suburbs make a difference? Does it wake up the world to the atrocities that are committed around the world? Are we more or less aware of the world around us? In a greater sense, are we prepared to face our mortality? When we wake up and go off to our normal jobs expecting to be back for dinner, are we prepared to never make it back? How many people have we not seen, talked to, told we love you to? What are you bringing with you in this world to the next?

Anyway, I am poor. Better off than other's I know, but struggling, none the less. I spend way too much time away from the people I love because, in order to survive my little struggle, it requires many hours of work. I try to stay as close as I can to those who really matter. I can say that I am not afraid to die. I do admit that I believe in a higher power. A life's spirit will carry on. I know not everyone believes that life carries on after death, and I'm not telling anyone what to believe.

I guess, long- winded point is that the "good life" is not just diamonds and big houses and big cars, its you and your interactions within the world. Who are you? Are you happy? Are you afraid to die, or are you satisfied within your heart to leave the world behind? I think that's what woke me up. I mean really up. Death should not intentionally be had at another man's hand. War is not noble. It is bloody, disgusting, and innocent people always land in the way. So, if you aren't ready to die, what are you going to do to make sure you are ready to die?

Seriously: Give me freedom or give me death!!!

[niyad]

1. nor am I afraid to die. excellent post. I lived at what would have been

"ground zero" in a cold war nuclear exchange, so got over being afraid many decades ago.

[notadmblnd]

2. nope.. except for the possible pain....

I'm looking forward to death.

[hyphenate]

3. I am more afraid of not making my mark

while I'm alive than I am to die. I kind of think of myself as George Bailey--would the world have been better off if I had not been born? Or have I done anything to warrant my existence? A legacy is important to me, even if I've only influenced one person, it will be enough to justify my living.

[pooja]

5. exactly... head up not in the gutter you might see something worth

looking at.

[bryant69]

4. Yes

I mean i am religious so i believe there's something after. I am comfortable middle class (in lifestyle not paycheck. I'm single no kids, so don't have a lot of outlay).

Also I'm afraid of Van Halen.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[pooja]

10. I hope you find your peace of mind.

You can't change the world without doing it one person at a time...

[bryant69]

14. So you think i should wipe out Van Halen?

Or Van Halen fans?

Bryant

[pooja]

24. Are they even still popular? I think they wiped themselves out.

[ixion]

6. nope... in the words of Frida Kahlo:

"I hope the exit is painless, and I hope never to return."

[JuniperLea]

7. I'm not afraid to die

I am afraid that I will be required to watch the death of freedom. That scares the hell out of me.

[jwirr]

32. Yes, and to watch my children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren

suffer for what we did or did not do. I think I am almost more afraid to live.

[Joe Bacon]

8. What I am really afraid of...

...I'm afraid of winding up like Teri Schaivo, having my greedy family turn me into their personal ATM.

That's why I carry a living will card with me at all times.

[undergroundpanther]

9. I'm not scared to die

Because life hurts me. I really don't feel like death could be worse than this life. I think it would be a dreamless sleep. Like a light being switched off and that's it. And for me with the way life feels for me a relief.If there is any kind of afterlife I hope it's not like this one here.

As for bad ways to expire, Yeah I agree a long protracted sickness would suck as a way to go as would slow torture..But this world you don't have control over such things.You die as you die..Even when you try to kill yourself sometimes it does not work even though you really thought it would.

People who are hung up on "freewill" don't realize how little we control about our own lives.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Krishnamurti (1895-1986)

In everyone there is some longing for humanity's rightful dignity,
for moral integrity, for free expression of being and a sense
of transcendence over the world of existence.
Vaclav Havel (b.1936)

[blues90]

52. that's how I see it too

I used to feel there was an after life when I was young , no one really knows .

I look at death as something similar as the time before we were born , you have no memory before your life began so maybe death is the same thing you just don't exist anylonger .

[lonestarnot]

11. Since it is something everyone has to do, I look to it as just another

experience.

[mrcheerful]

12. I like to point out to the fearful ones that life=death, no one gets out

of life alive. Don't you find it amusing that all these fearful people don't live in large cities? The majority of the fearful live in towns and rural areas that aren't likely to be a target of terrorists. I found how many people in Saginaw county went on a fear rampage because they caught 3 people buying cell phones and the Michigan State Police started spewing how cell phones could be used to make terrorist bombs. Under scoring the fact that lithium batteries are also used to make meth. Not to mention these family owned small stores run by people from the ME will buy hot items cheaply from other stores and sell them in theirs at a marked up price. America who spent 3 generations under the threat of a nuke war and bravely lived their lives without caving into the fear of being nuked. Is now america scared of terrorists and are afraid every waking moment of their lives. America home of the free land of the brave? America is neither brave or free today, we have become a nation of frightened children looking for government protection against the evils life imposes on our lives. Name one law passed in the last 30 years thats stopped one crime or protected one person from harm. Life is a risk and theres nothing man can do to take that risk away.

[Saturday]

You made an excellent point!!

"America who spent 3 generations under the threat of a nuke war and bravely lived their lives without caving into the fear of being nuked. Is now america scared of terrorists and are afraid every waking moment of their lives."

[The Blue Flower]

13. As Woody Allen wrote...

"I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens."

[AusTexDem]

15. I would choose to live longer than the current life span.

I just don't think 80 or so years is long enough to live.
I think maybe 200 years would be cool.

[MysteryToMyself]

16. I am more afraid of living in a future Bush World

I am not afraid to die. I want to go to heaven, but I am in no hurry to get there. I am more afraid of living in a future Bush world than I am of dying.

[mcscajun]

27. Yeah, getting old in BushWorld is a pretty creepy and scary thought.

I'm ready to check out at any time, so far as that goes.

[OneBlueSky]

17. nope . . . just one more life transition . . . kinda like puberty . . .

only a little more dramatic . . . :)

[Protagoras]

18. I'm not yet ready to die but that does not mean I am unwilling

The way I live is far more important to me than the length of time. Am I willing to take action to live longer? Sure I get vaccines and I drive safely and I don't enlist in suicidal military actions.

But I also know I'd throw myself in front of a bus to save a loved one, that I'd catch a bullet before I'd betray my beliefs and that I'd die fighting rather than live life as a slave.

Would I be afraid if forced to do some of those acts? Sure...fear is normal. Fear is a part of every persons life or they are a fool. But fear is a feeling and feelings are internal and things we can master. I can admit to my fear. But that fear would not stop me because despite my fear I will not let myself live as a coward. I might act out of ignorance, or stupidity, or even laziness, but I cannot abide a cowardly life...at least not my own.

[Kindigger]

19. No

because I've already done it once. My gift to others is to tell them there is nothing to be afraid of.

[mcscajun]

20. No, so long as it's not by violence or protracted illness.

It's not the thought of dying/being dead, but How One Gets There that bothers me. I don't want to be a crime/terror statistic, and I don't want a long, painful, lingering illness. I have a living will, and a designee I trust to do what's necessary when my time comes. Bottom line, I'm ready to check out at any time.

OTOH, courtesy of Woody Allen (Love and Death, 1975):

Wheat.
I'm dead, they're talking about wheat.
The question is, have I learned anything about life? Only that human beings are divided into mind and body. The mind embraces all the nobler aspirations, like poetry and philosophy, but the body has all the fun. The important thing, I think, is not to be bitter.

You know, if it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. I think the worst you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever.

After all, you know, there are worse things in life than death. If you've ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman, you know exactly what I mean.

The key here, I think, is to not think of death as an end, but think of it more as a very effective way of cutting down on your expenses.

[InaneAnanity]

21. I'm afraid to die

I think we all should be.

[Retired AF Dem]

28. Why? It is such a waste of time

Everybody owes a death. Live life to it's fullest.

[InaneAnanity]

29. People who fear death

Are not willing to go fight in wars.

[Retired AF Dem]

31. So how do you defend against the people

that aren't afraid to die?

[InaneAnanity]

33. You kill them

But not preemptively

[Retired AF Dem]

34. :)

[pooja]

35. If people were able to live, love, and enjoy life, there would

be no need to take other's. I think the injustices of the world are what makes some act hostily towards others and able to take other's with them in their own demise.

[MysteryToMyself]

47. How do you account for the wealthy

Like bin laden? Like Huzbollah's leader? Like Bush? Like Sharon?

[jwirr]

36. I do not think most soldiers are so fearless as to not fear death,

they go because they think it is the right thing to do or they got caught up in a pResident's war. Healthy fear is a natural part of survival.

[pooja]

37. paranoia is not, that leads to mass chaos and idiotic powermongers

to edge in... Look at Hitler.

[jwirr]

39. Yes, one is a form of illness and the other is a good buffer in times

of danger.

[undergroundpanther]

53. I'm not scared to die

But I'm also not stupid. Fuck fighting in wars.I am not gonna die for some rich pigs bullshit games,ok?

[NC_Nurse]

22. Americans tend to be in deep denial

about death. It's kind of weird, actually. I have watched families pretend that a loved one was going to make it when it was CLEAR that they were dying. We like to FIGHT everything it seems. I'm surprised that the Admin hasn't started a "War on Death", they've got a war on everything else.
We also have a whole industry dedicated to the fantasy of avoiding death - all the supplements that are supposed to reverse aging and cure just about everything, the uber-fitness gurus, raking in money from the deniers.
As Warren Zevon said on his last album, "Life'll Kill Ya". Period. Even if you lose weight, stop smoking, take Co-Q10 or drink pomegranate juice. Why obsess about it? Enjoy your life.
I think you have the right attitude.

[mcscajun]

26. Exactly. Live while you are Alive. Do everything right and maybe

get an extra six months, maybe get hit by a truck tomorrow.

Life is a crapshoot, and the odds are with the house.

[treestar]

23. No, but I'm afraid of being raptured

:rofl:

There might be a lot of fundies around (though the greatest schedenfreud -sp?- there would be would be a rapture with the fundies left behind.)

:rofl:

[I Have A Dream]

45. My fear is that they'll all be raptured, and I'll be stuck doing all...

of their work in the office. :rofl:

(I have a friend who goes into the office lottery pools because he doesn't want to take a chance that they'll win, and he'll be stuck doing all of their work when they leave. I'll have to ask him about the rapture since he's Jewish. Maybe he should accept Jesus Christ as his savior for the same reason! (Just in case...) :))

(NOTE: I' don't mean to put down Evangelical Christians who believe this. It just made me laugh to think about it.)

[leftofthedial]

25. no. but I'm afraid I'm gonna die.

[RebelOne]

30. No, I am not afraid to die, but I don't want dying to come

too soon. I still have much more to do in my lifetime and I don't want to go before my dogs because I don't who would take them.

[pecwae]

38. A person after my own heart!

That's what scares me--no one to take care of my animal friends. I was a Hospice volunteer chaplain for a time and one of our patients voiced that same fear. He had made peace with his god, but was in such fear about his dog's well being after he left.

[zanne]

40. Same with me and my cats.

They were either rescued or came to my door looking for a place to live. A few are so shy they only trust me, so noone else would be able to care for them. I fear "abandoning" them.

[bling bling]

46. Same with me and my baby.

Before she was born I didn't fear death at all. Now that I have her I desperately want to live to see her grow up, I want to meet the people that she will grow to love later in life, and the children that she'll have. It breaks my heart to think of missing out on that.

And I fear my death for her, too. I can imagine what a void there would be to grow up without a mother (or father). She's so absolutely precious and special to me and I know she knows it. I hate the thought of her losing all the love I give her all day long every day. Of course she would have her dad who loves her more than antyhing. But there's something about a mom....I honestly hope my husband would find another woman that could love her even half as much as me, someone who would treat her like she's really her daughter.

This is a really sad thread to me. I think it was supposed to encourage us about life but I think I somehow missed the point, now I'm all bummed out.

[OnionPatch]

60. I can say the same thing

I was never afraid of dying before. Hey, it happens to us all, right? But after having a child, it's just different now. I don't want to die because I need to stay and be her mother.

[Acadia Blue]

41. Fundamentalists are terrified to die. lol Southern Baptists if they are

not of the JImmy Carter type are especially frightened.

[titoresque]

42. This is wonderful, thank you!

K&R!

[PatriotMom]

43. Yes I agree, and I have given this alot of thought

Give me liberty or give me death.
I am not afraid to die for what I believe in. However, I do try to choose my battles carefully now days because I am not afraid to die.
Peace

[kineneb]

44. no, and please pass the chocolate

The past is gone, the future is not yet here, there is only the now.
Death comes to all, it is part of living. No death, then no life. All just part of the great cosmic (re)cycle.

And the chocolate: well, may as well enjoy the now, while I am at it...
:)

[MysteryToMyself]

48. Having lost loved ones at a young and tender age

it made me aware that a good bye may be the last one. But as I have went on with life, I realize some very sick people can live a lot longer than they want to.

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

49. I do not fear or concern myself with inevitables

Though when this question is posed I always reply... "I plan to live forever or die trying."

[MysteryToMyself]

50. Death is a debt you owe, the second you are born

:woohoo:

[Mr_Spock]

51. No

It's inevitable, the sooner one and all accepts this, the better the world will be.

[Generic Brad]

54. I have no fear. Take me anytime!

Biologically I've mated. I've bred. My genes will carry on.

Morally I've held my ground. I've taken my stands. My legacy has been established.

Intellectually I have had original ideas. I have seen my ideas influence others. Things I have set up will continue after I have disappeared.

Hell. I've done more than I originally set out to do. Why am I even still here?

[JohMunich99]

55. An old Irish saying

Tis better to be a coward for one second of your life than be dead for the rest of it.

[Raine]

68. I like that

:thumbsup: I'm going to remember that one!

[leesa]

56. No. I'm afraid of suffering alot though

[Dem2theMax]

57. Hell no. At this point, with all * has done,

I'm just praying for a direct hit. I'd rather not suffer.

[bridgit]

58. death can be seen as life's reward...

[Truthiness Inspector]

59. ?

We are a resistant strain of bacteria no doubt, but there is are a few strong doses of penicillin out there that will destroy us.

I don't think humans are a strain of bacteria. Is that how you think of yourself and your family and friends, and the rest of us?

Maybe you are just having a bad night...I hope. Hope you feel better. I have felt like bacteria before, but this is a bit much. LOL.

[Amonester]

61. The way things are going (plus getting old & older every year):

No.

I would be afraid to die if we all lived together as one (living life in peace) on a planet where everybody cared for everyone & if I was (a lot) younger.

[Deja Q]

62. I have died before.

Being put under for surgery is tantamount to death; except one wakes up in one's own body.

Dunno what happens after death (a new life as something else, another person, a repeat of one's life where one hopefully compensates for the mistakes previously made, zilch, Heaven, you name it...)

And I am still afraid to live. But I am working on that; it's pointless to wallow in misery, as whatever happens happens and it'll be time wasted.

[Jazz2006]

63. Nah,

I'm not afraid to die. I'd hate like hell to die today but I'm not afraid of it.

Most people are probably not really afraid of dying unless and until they are in a position where death becomes a real possibility in a very real way.

For most of us, that probably means being diagnosed with a terminal illness and suffering through the horrific effects of it. I would certainly prefer not to die the way my sister and my mother did, so I can understand that.

For others, it probably means putting themselves and those they love in harm's way - whether that be by being a professional firefighter, soldier, police officer, or other professions that require putting yourself in dangerous situations every day, and I can relate to that.

But other than that, I doubt that most of us think about the possibility of dying very often, let alone get to the point of fearing it. I could be wrong, of course, but that's my take on it ~ that people don't really give all that much thought to dying unless there's a real and particular reason to do so.

Personally, I think that the odds of me getting run over by a truck crossing the street at King and Bay are probably greater than the odds of me crashing my car on the way to work and greater than me hitting the trifecta at a race track where I go maybe once a year, so... I prefer to focus on the positive, despite the ugliness that surrounds us sometimes.

I worry, in real time, a thousand times more about the possibility of my daughter dying than I ever do about myself because she's a young driver and although she's had all the professional training, etc., I'm her Mom, what can I say?

I worry, in real time, a thousand times more about the possibility of my beau dying than I ever do about myself because he puts his life on the line every time he leaves the house to go to his work as a fire captain.

Admittedly, I sometimes think about "what if" because any parent would be a fool and wholly irresponsible not to do so - but I don't dwell on that at all. I don't spend a second longer than necessary worrying about dying in hypothetical situations... but yeah, I've made sure that things are covered, just in case.

Grr - sometimes I talk too much, and I have here in this post, so I'll cut it short by saying this:

No, I have no fear of dying. But I'd hate like hell to miss out on sharing in all the things I'm looking forward to in my daughter's life.

[Melynn]

64. I'm afraid to die

Scared stiff of the thought. I have no idea why. I don't even like to think of my death.

[WinkyDink]

65. I am afraid. Afraid of non-existence and rotting. Afraid of going blank.

That that's all there is, and I won't even know it.

But that would be better than Hell, anyway.

[Raine]

72. Me too, the act of dying doesn't scare me...

it's what comes after...nothingness...that I'm afraid of. :-(

[Skittles]

66. I am not afraid of death

I am terribly afraid of the process of dying though

[Raine]

67. Yes, I am

I'm afraid of eternal non-existence :scared: I don't like that thought at all. x( I also don't like the idea of living in heaven for eternity either, that seems very weird and creepy. x(

[magellan]

69. No, I'm not afraid to die

Like others have said, it's not death I fear but all the horrific ways it might happen.

I'd hate to die like Abeer. Or the way people did in the WTC on 9-11 when the towers fell. No one wants to know death is upon them and suffer terror and pain before it finally takes them.

I wouldn't like to die yet, but if it happens so be it. Just let it be swift and peaceful.

[YankeyMCC]

70. Not afraid to die exactly

a bit scared of what may happen just prior to dying. ;) Like it's not the fall that worries me it's the sudden stop at the end.

But point well stated you are exactly right. Wealth is not measured in dollars or gold or collection of things but in how you affect the people around you and the world at large. You live on not in some imagined afterlife but in the memories and lessons you leave behind.

The more people understand that and the more people are enabled to act on that idea and shape their lives around it the happier we'll all be.

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

71. Not afraid to die: Not afraid of Terror: Afraid of US Government

The bastards can steal all your money, beat the tar out of you and put you in jail so fast and easy it isnt funny.

The terrorists only want to kill us, not rape us, like the Neo-Cons.

[roguevalley]

73. no. my father died two weeks ago and I was there. It was calm and

peaceful (except for the hysterical crying of me and my family). I'm not afraid. I just don't want acres of pain.

I read "We are their Heaven" by Allison DuBois three weeks before and it has made a world of difference to me and how I feel about losing my awesome, beautiful, wonderful, unique father and how I view life and death.