Friday, May 4, 2012

Thou Shall Not Murder

"Thou Shall Not Kill."
 The Sixth Commandment of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God, on Mt. Sinai; states that one shall not kill a fellow human being. This simple commandment of respecting the life given to another by God's grace, has been broadened to comprise of several situations; as well as to validate the wrong doings of another.  The ideal that God granted another human with the right to live, and only he is to decide when that life is taken away, is pretty standard even in those who do not believe in an God/Goddess as they still will debate what right it is for someone of equal humanity to take the life of another. In today's society the thought of a full-blown murder of another human being is enough to make one cringe, yet when the same ideals are applied to other situations such as abortion, capital punishment, suidcide, and so forth things become complicated. At what point does one human have the right to take the life of another, whether it be their own child, for justice, or to stop suffering of a loved one?

Abortion has become an widely debated topic from simple communities to presidential issues of interest. The debate being at what point is an human being truly created, conception? Birth? Personally, the belief that one is "living" till birth to me, is completely idiotic to state. Upon conception, fertilization of the egg by the sperm, there is now a creature with it's own genetic blue print and functioning cells, a living being. No matter what approach one attempts to take to validate abortion it will always be the killing of another human being, with a soul similar to our very own. Now that has been established there's the argument of not being able to provide for the child, thereby it should be aborted. Stop. Pause. Hault. You can't provide for the child, so it would be better of dead? Millions of couples worldwide desire a family, but can not achieve one due to problems of either the male or female. They would gladly love to provide for that child who you're killing. Here's an idea.. give them that child. The argument that if one can provide for the child becomes invalid right there, if you can't. Some else can. Then there's the argument of a child being the product of a rape, the woman should not have to endure carrying that child to term while dealing with the mental traumas of the event; and may not even bear the sight of the child because of who fathered it. So you had something taken from you so your response it to take something from someone else? It truly shouldn't matter who fathered the child, it's not their fault, they don't deserve to have their life taken from them. There's so many other choices like simply giving the child up. Plus, you never know upon the birth of that child you will have such an connection with it, it won't matter who the father is cause they're yours someone who will love you with no boundaries.

Capital punishment is an give and take circumstance when it comes to the Sixth Commandment, to what extent does the government have to take the life of another? There's several situations that it would appear completely acceptable, such as an life for an life, whether it be another human life, or a child's innocence. Suddenly we're a bunch of savages with pitchforks and torches.
Most do not take into account how worse off the criminal will be spending life in prison, than if we killed them and let them off easy. The torture of spending life in prison with the guilt of what they did, and knowing that this is all they will ever have is far more punishing. Death is an physical punishment, but life in prison is an mental, physical, and emotional punishment; it will take way more of a toll on one's well-being. As well as the fact that victims and family of the victims will have the pleasure of knowing their assaulter is rotting in a prison cell enduring physical and mental abuses than having the pleasure of being dead. Capital punishment is truly unneccessary, as the desired effect can be accomplished ten-folds without even taking another human's life.

Suicide is truly an complex debate, cause it wholly focuses on how much control does one have on their own life? Personally I believe that one has control of their own life, and choice to do with as they will. But suicide is 9 times out of 10, an long-term solution to an short-term problem. The power to take away your own life is truly up to the individual, but the fact that in killing themselves they are in turn disturbing not only their own families, communities but their world-wide connected destiny. One may believe they can do what they want cause it's theirs but you have to take into consideration those around you, others felling the same way, and even your soul mate somewhere out in the world. One death doesn't just affect one community it takes away someone in the world meant to do something, whether it be that one vote that turns an election, running that one stop sign that makes another car stop and in turn avoid an collision with another car, that one smile that gives a person committed to killing themselve hope, and so forth. To believe that your death will result in no more than a couple sad individuals is truly self-fish. You wouldn't have been born if you weren't meant to contribute to the universal course of events; that only should convince one not to kill themselves. Not to murder another human being is an commandment for a reason, every living creature is part of something bigger than themselves, and in killing themselves they are affecting every single living being on the planet.

My personal views on these three topics of abortion, capital punishment, and suicide, are just those personal views. I take the Sixth Commandment to heart and believe that upon conception you become something far bigger than yourself. Being part of this universal connections makes one obligated to cherish not only their own lives as well as others, because one does not know how that one life being taken can effect the entire universe.

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