Death is a Gift

First off, no, I'm not going emo. No, I'm not depressed. I simply want to convince everyone that death is really important.

Society tries so hard to distance itself from death. We put our elderly in nursing homes, romanticize it until it barely resembles reality, and ignore the timeline that it gives us.

In reality, death is the greatest gift of life. Let me explain.

Many of the social ills of our modern world can be solved by embracing the inevitability of death. Ignoring the fact that we have only so much time allows us the luxury of thinking of only the present. However, this mindset is detrimental, as it leads to decisions that do not take into account a future that is much bigger than the lifespan of any one person.

Embracing the reality of death forces us to think of the long-term. I feel that our elderly are, in that sense, perhaps one of our greatest assets as a society. They are not a social ill to be euthanized. They are a reminder of the need to think beyond ourselves. Thinking for the long term - 10, 20, 30 or more years down the road - will prevent excessive debt, promote building family ties, and leads to more sound fiscal and governmental policy. Short-term decisions resulting in short-term fixes to satisfy short-minded people will only result in long-term catastrophe.

I have a hunch that families that have an elderly person living with them will tend to be more successful in life. They will not live for themselves. I think that is perhaps why our puritan forefathers worked hard - not only for "treasures in heaven where moth doth not corrupt nor do thieves break through and steal" - but because they had much shorter life spans and were forced to confront the reality preparing in advance and for their posterity.

I'm sure that this thought could be expressed better, but hopefully you get the gist.

Calvin did...