Primum Non Nocere

Frankie Dunn: It wasn't your fault. I was wrong to say that.

Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris: You damn right. I found you a fighter. You made her the best fighter she could be.

Frankie Dunn: I killed her.

Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris: Don't say that. Maggie walked through that door with nothing buts guts. No chance in the world of being what she needed to be. It was because of you that she was fighting the championship of the world. You did that. People die everyday, Frankie - mopping floors, washing dishes and you know what their last thought is? I never got my shot. Because of you Maggie got her shot. If she dies today you know what her last thought would be? I think I did all right... I know I could rest with that.

("Million Dollar Baby")

As we have seen, the film "Million Dollar Baby" ends on a controversial act of high drama. Was what Frankie did in acceding to Maggie's final wish, in fact, wrong? Legally speaking, this act of active euthanasia was first degree murder. The film, on the other hand, suggests it might have been the right move, considering the circumstances. What do you think? Why? Explain!

This blog posting, with special guest blogger Wesley J. Smith, will come due on Friday morning November 18, 2011.

a moral dilemma

TO TAKE ONE'S OWN LIFE - RIGHT OR WRONG?

TO BE? OR NOT TO BE?
"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy."
Albert Camus

History is replete with examples of societies where suicide is both revered and execrated. The Kamikazes in Japan and the Roman philosophers of antiquity respected highly the much considered and planned suicide, but the monotheistic religions have always held to be one of the worst things a person could conceivably do. The Catholic Church would not let suicides be buried in its cemeteries, for example. On the other hand, many would agree with Edward Abbey who claimed "there are circumstances in which suicide presents a viable option; a workable alternative; the only sensible solution." Others see it as an individual question on which others have no right to opine, that we humans can either do it or not as we choose. But it has a ripple effect on others besides the individual to their families and the rest of society. "We can never go back. This 'thing' we deal with after suicide...it doesn't get better. It just changes with time. We will be affected profoundly by this for years to come. It is not something that can be forgotten, explains Peter Greene, "As anyone who has been close to someone that has committed suicide knows, there is no other pain like that felt after the incident."

SUICIDE AS REFRACTED BY THE ARTS:

• The femme fatale hires a hitman in Sin City (19.5 mb)
• Romen and Juliet finale (8.81 mb)

It is the same for the young and the old? The healthy and the sick? What is your opinion about the complex topic of suicide? What are your personal opinions about the right of the individual to take his or her own life? Should it be permissible? Impermissible? Why? EXPLAIN!

This blogsite will come due on Friday morning October 7th, 2011.


"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."
Phil Donahue

NOT "GOODBYE," BUT "UNTIL THEN..."

A new opportunity for professional and personal growth!

GOODBYE, BIOSCIENCE DIRECTOR WENDI BUTLER!

Without Mrs. Butler, there would be no Bioscience Academy at Foothill Technology High School. Without Mrs. Butler, your sophomore and junior years would have looked much differently. Here at the end, it is time to say "goodbye" to Mrs. Butler. And more than that, Mrs. Butler is leaving Foothill Technology High School after ten years here for another school. Everyone is happy for Mrs. Butler and her new opportunities, yet sad to see her leave our community which has so esteemed her for years. A remembrance of good times shared, things you will remember, and "until thens" would all be appropriate to write about here.

This blogsite comes due on Friday June 10th, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. - the beginning of your last day of high school.

MRS. BUTLER, FTHS BIOSCIENCE ACADEMY DIRECTOR