Quality of Life

I started this post with a different title and something entirely different in mind, but it seemed to take on a life of its own. I think there is a point here somewhere, maybe several.

I read this article recently about onions being good for the brain. If true, mine should be in good shape because onions have always been one of my favorite foods. I put it in or on most anything. One of my favorite meals is to slice an onion and a green pepper and cook them in olive oil with a little bit of low fat kielbasa and Italian seasoning. When my mom fixed pot roast, she always had a whole onion for me. Hopefully, the onions will balance out some of my bad eating habits.

While I want my mental faculties to keep functioning as long as the body keeps going, I do not want to live to be 100+. I want to live as long as the quality of my life is good, not just to live to be older. Did that make sense? I don't agree with the current medical trend to keep people alive regardless of their quality of life. Lying in a bed in a vegetable state is not my definition of life.

It seems that scientists are looking for ways to make humans live longer, but not necessarily healthier for that extra time. And where are the food and other resources coming from to sustain all the extra people? We are pushing at the limits now. Where are the jobs coming from for all these people? If people live longer, they will need to work longer? Again that is already becoming a problem. Are more problems being created than are being solved?

And when it comes to the quality of life, the happenings in this country concern me. Things are happening that I would never have imagined could happen in this country. The United States has never been perfect, but until recently, I have always been proud to be an American. I cannot say that now. I am ashamed of many of the things our government has done here and in other parts of the world in the name of national security.

We, as a culture, have become obsessed with being entertained...think the Roman circuses. Too many see our leaders' actions as something that does not concern us. We'd rather watch some reality show or football game instead of learning about what our leaders and potential leaders are saying and doing. When the masses wake up to what is happening, will it be too late?

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
    --George Santayana

Most Americans today have little or no knowledge of the history of our country and other parts of the world. I have always been a student of history. I know how unusual the freedoms we have taken for granted in our lives are in the world at large. I know how hard our ancestors fought and sacrificed for the freedoms we are letting our leaders take away. I know why the world ended up fighting two major wars in the twentieth century.

Here is an interesting article on human rights vs. national security I came across this week. Can we be secure if we give up all our human rights? I don't think so. There certainly won't be any personal security if we do.