TTSR A "Duty to Die"?

Discussion on The Thomas Sowell Reader by Thomas Sowell,  A "Duty to Die"?

"The Thomas Sowell Reader" by Thomas Sowell, page 8, ‘A "Duty to Die"?’     

     This chapter is centered on the idea that has caught on among some of the intellectuals that the aged have “a duty to die,” instead of becoming a burden to others. The government sees things this way, in health care particularly.  Take the UK for example, the elderly are given less care (homecare, medicine, operations, ect.) and they are also looked down upon in society.  If government Medicare spending is going to be cut back, it’s almost certainly going to be by sacrificing the elderly.

     So theres the governments reasoning behind a “Duty to die”, but how is it that some of the highly educated people have started to think the same way? Thomas Sowell relates the story of his Aunt Nance Ann and how, although she was homeless and moved from relative to relative, never once did anyone ever say she had such duty to fulfill.  So if very uneducated people back in the time of Aunt Nance Ann would never think about such a thing, and exceptionally schooled individuals today are thinking about it, not only freely but with a clear conscience, it would appear that it is the indoctrination of the government education system that is leading people to believe in “A duty to die”. 

     

     In society today, who do you see the elderly as?  Do you see them as people like everybody else, only older and less mobile?  Do you think of them as wise councelors or experienced learners?  This is how I see not only my grandparents but their whole generation.  And yes, they do need more healthcare than most of us do but they are the ones who have worked the hardest for it.  They have worked more and paid more taxes than we (the younger generations) have, so why should they be denied it after so many years of service?

Sowell, Thomas. The Thomas Sowell Reader.  United State of America: Basic Books, 2011.

Job 12:12  “Wisdom is with the ages, and understanding in length of days.”

1 Timothy 5:4 "...These should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God"

1 Timothy 5:16  “If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.”