Tragedy -- How many more?

I sang at the funeral of a sister in the church today, an old and wise lady, full of years (she died at 81), who had suffered from many illnesses in the last five years, but died surrounded by the love of her family and friends, at home, knowing she was going Home and confident of her fate. She?d had to take medicines, many treatments, and yes, she?d been on oxygen, had to eat special food, and had to be cared for, in many ways.



Death is something that comes to all of us. Every day this column is filled with reports of people dying, or being killed. Sometimes it is a person in the middle of committing violent aggression against someone, and while it is sad that a person has to die, it is far better that the aggressor be killed than their intended victim, whether it is a jewel thief attacking a courier, a drunk invading a home, a bunch of ?freedom-fighter? thugs shooting up passer-bys on an Iraqi street, or some kind of govgoon. But it is still not good, not the preferred way to deal with violence and aggression, and we must recognize that is the case.



On the other hand, all too often, the death is CAUSED by the aggressor. Often, that is a outlaw or criminal: a mugger or thief or berzerker (like the young Chippewa man earlier this week). Sometimes, there are multiple aggressors involved: a ?big? thug (whether you call them king, baron, dictator, president, premier, or whatever, right on down to mayor or board chairman or block warden) who tells (or ?suggests? [?Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest??]) lesser goons to go out and do thus-and-so: haul them into jail, throw them across the border, beat them up, pour castor oil down their throat, or simply kill them. And there are so many ways to kill people, and it seems as though the goons (state type or private type agressors) delight in thinking up new ones, even after we, the people, tell them that they can?t use some methods. So they knife, and shoot, and burn, and drown, and beat their victims to death with clubs or chains or rocks or just with their fists. We report some of those, too, although nothing like really happens each day. We grow tired of the ?bad news? of so many people dying. It?s human nature.



Someone once said, ?One death is a tragedy, a thousand are statistics.? Any day, I expect to report one more death ? and it will be a tragedy. And while this tragedy only has one victim (at least directly), the death is being caused by dozens of people, directly and indirectly. And it is a nasty sort of death: from a combination of starvation and dehydration, to a person who cannot physically feed herself. It isn?t ?allowing her to die? ? it is killing her in a premeditated and intentionally painful way, and it is being done by her ?husband? with the active agreement and concurrence of several dozen men in black ? the judges that rule this land with an iron hand, who worship ?Law? (as they define it) and forget that law was made for men, who worship order and precedent and procedure, who are quick to punish those who offend them while allowing obvious injustice and evil to escape without penalty. They made the ?wicked judge? of Jesus? parable look like a merciful and compassionate man; they make the Pharisees appear as moderate and flexible. And they are killing this woman on purpose, despite many reasons not to, and as part of deliberate conspiracy to force the people of this country to bow to their will ? and their whims.



She is only one woman ? dozens like her die everyday, whether on the highways in accidents, in dirty urban alleys from muggings, in drug prisons, or just because they get sick and die. But she may very well be the cause of ?Terri?s Revolution? in which the 40% or so of Americans, who think that government should exist to protect life and not to take it, finally rise up and say enough is enough. Yes, a revolution ? although it is possible to have revolutions without bloodshed ? and maybe this can be one of them. A revolution against reigning judges, from the level of a local traffic court to the Supremes themselves, and against those who enable their monarchial rule: lawyers and legal types and, yes, legislators. This nation is nearing that point ? and we must ask, if not now, when? If we cannot prevent her death, can we, by action, at least HONOR her death?



How many more must die because of imperial judges who let loose people like the killer of Jessica on the public, who allow government thugs to go out and steal and endanger and kill, who allow a husband to kill his sick wife under the guise of law, who take away our freedoms to speak, to pray, to worship (or to not worship), and all the other thousand crimes (moral, not legal) which our ?judicial? system has inflicted upon Americans and the world? Would my sister not be allowed to live once her illness has been diagnosed as ?terminal? in a world ruled by these demons in human form ? would we have been singing at her funeral five years ago, instead of today? Would she have died confined to a hospice bed after someone pulled the tubes that let her eat and drink out?



The powder barrel has been opened and the bung thrown away, the fuse is laid, the powder train is ready , and the match is close to hand. Will Terri be the encouragement for several thousand people to pick up that match and strike it? Or is it too late?



Nathan Barton



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