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You Gotta Read this!
What If?
Written By:
Mark Harrier
and Ron Heagy
At the end of Robert Altman’s 1972 film, NASHVILLE, a
disturbed young man makes his way through the crowd at a
presidential campaign rally and approaches the stage, where
the candidate is watching a beautiful country singer
perform for his supporters. The young “assassin” pulls out
a gun, aims it at the stage and fires with precision,
killing the singer instantly. Moviegoers and critics alike
were outraged, asking Altman the question, “Why in the
world did she have to die? Why didn’t he shoot the
candidate?” Altman replied that the nature of their
question was exactly the point he was making, that we as a
society had become so desensitized to political
assassination; it had become an acceptable expectation. We
were outraged at the murder of the singer, but thought the
murder of a political leader came with the job.
When I recently watched the Oscar winning “Million Dollar
Baby”, a powerful movie with its own controversial ending,
I cried as many did. But my tears were not for the tragedy
of the story, to which I relate on a very personal level.
My tears were shed because we as a society have gotten it
wrong again. Only this time, the filmmakers are not
shedding light on the problem. They are making it worse.
Many people are furious at the movie’s sympathetic
portrayal of euthanasia, and their outrage has been
reported in the media. Not to mention the controversial
starvation of Terri Schiavo. (Disabled from a brain
injury.) Many others are furious that people are
politicizing what to them is a brave morality tale, and
their outrage has been reported as well, perhaps even
helping the movie to win its Oscars. But in the secondary
debate over euthanasia, few have asked the real question,
the one they asked Mr. Altman, “...why in the world did
Maggie have to die?” She was not terminally ill, she was
not brain dead, she was not in agonizing permanent pain,
she was not in a coma for years with no real hope of
recovering, in fact, she was not in any of the states of
health one associates with the debate over euthanasia. Why
did she have to die? Because Maggie was “handicapped”.
And no one is outraged about that.
In fact, I’m sure that almost everyone watching the movie
never even questioned the premise. Our perception and
prejudice as a society says that being a quadriplegic is
certainly worse than death. As a three-sport letterman with
a football scholarship to Oregon State, I felt the same
way. And when I woke up in the hospital on my 18th birthday
as a newly minted quadriplegic, courtesy of a surfing
accident the day before, I too wanted to die. It’s a common
emotion to have when faced with a catastrophic loss, be it
a physical or emotional one. Million Dollar Baby gives an
almost mythic nobility to those feelings, and “mercifully”
grants her request to die. But is that really the message
we want to give to our sons and daughters? That a “quad” is
better off dead? It’s a message that some Asian societies
are comfortable with, since they discourage their children
from even associating with the handicapped, lest the bad
Karma rub off on them. And it’s a message they would have
been comfortable with in Nazi Germany. Let’s not forget
Hitler started his “Final Solution” by exterminating the
disabled and dysfunctional first. If our own government
once valued intelligent, able-bodied African Americans as
3/5ths of a full human being, what is the value we put on
the handicapped? Ten percent? Five? Are the nearly 100,000
quadriplegics living in our country today really better off
dead? And what do we say to the hundreds of American GI’s
who have suffered similar spinal and neck injuries while
fighting in Iraq? Do we send them a copy of the movie with
a note that reads “Thanks, soldier. Watch this and you’ll
know what to do.”? I think not. How about giving them some
other choices? Choices like the ones they were injured
protecting: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Thank God there was no one willing to assist me when I
wanted to die. Otherwise I would have missed out on one
heck of an interesting life. A life full of triumphs and
tribulations, of smart moves and stupid mistakes, love and
heartbreak, divorce and remarriage, failures and
achievements. In other words, a life just like yours. With
the loving help from my family, friends, and caregivers, I
became a college graduate, teacher, writer, businessman,
motivational speaker, homeowner, husband, and father. I
have accomplished more than I would have had I never been
hurt at all. Surprisingly, my accident was not the death of
all my hopes, it was their rebirth. And I have learned that
birth is a lot better choice than death. I have a new baby
myself, a baby worth a lot more than a million dollars, a
miracle naturally conceived against all odds. If you ask
her in a few years from now if she thinks her father should
have killed himself, I expect she’ll say no. My wife and my
other three daughters seem to be happy I didn’t make that
choice. And I imagine the majority of the over two million
people I’ve spoken to at schools, churches, and
corporations throughout the country are glad I chose to
stay around a while longer.
In truth, we are all handicapped in some way. Mine is just
more visible. The million dollar baby couldn’t handle hers,
and her manager loved her enough to help her die. She got
her wish, exiting while she could still “hear the
applause”. Hollywood needs look no further than one of
their own to see how hollow that notion is. Christopher
Reeve got lots of applause playing a hero in the movies,
but it paled in comparison to the ovations he received
after his accident, when he became a real life hero to
millions. When he chose life. What if Maggie’s mind
contained a cure? Tragically we’ll never know
*Please donate to my charity, Never Give Up USA, today, so
I can help millions of teens and adults choose life! I need
your help!
Ron
*Registered with the Writer’s Guild Association
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