Tuesday, March 27, 2007
On living well in the contemplation of death
As regular readers know, I have declaimed briefly on the question of whether John Edwards should continue his presidential campaign in the face of his wife's resurgent cancer. My view, in a nutshell, is that it is asinine to praise or criticize Edwards for continuing his campaign. People deal with these situations differently, and are as likely to become stronger for them as they are to weaken or break.
That said, read Ezra Klein, who has smart things to say about how Americans deal with sickness.
Via, well, Ezra Klein.
4 Comments:
By 
SR, at
Tue Mar 27, 09:12:00 AM:
The issue isn't really so much what is revealed about the Edwards' relationship and how they are going to deal with the inevitable victory of Elizabeth's cancer, but rather the ludicrous notion displayed by Edwards that he is going on because his country NEEDS him.
The guy is delusional.
By Mark, at
Tue Mar 27, 09:46:00 AM:
I disagree with this statement by the author..." That something is killing her reminds us all that we are dying, as are our loved ones. But we soldier on, and live on, and continue trying to change the world and make our dreams manifest."
Characterizing life as a state where "we are dying" is the way I, as a melodramatic teen would speak of my life and the lives of those around me, who, when they heard this characterization spoken aloud, would protest with all the life they had.
Kudos to the Edwards clan for not allowing impending death to halt their ambitions, even if they are an enormous long shot.
By 
, at
Tue Mar 27, 11:48:00 AM:
My takeaway from the Edwards news conference: it was all John, all the time. "I was in Iowa, I did this, I I I, me me me".
So his wife still has cancer, that's not news. Tragic to see a youngish person facing death, but certainly it's not out of the ordinary.
Although he's discouraging the "pity vote", what else could you call a vote for this lightweight? Pity for John being what he is, not for the fact that his young kids may not reach adulthood with their Mom to see it.
And I understand the inevitable hook to the stem cell/healthcare "debate". But maybe it should be "would she have been given better care if the husband wasn't an ambulance chaser?"
It's a bummer that she's ill, as it is for anyone who suffers with a disease that'll likely result in premature death, but we've all got it coming.
By Georg Felis, at
Tue Mar 27, 11:51:00 AM:
Cancer is quite on the mind of the blogging community as of late, with Mrs Edwards, Tony Snow, and of course the death of Cathy Seipp. Please let us all remember that we are all placed on this earth with an expiration date, and it is what we do before that date that is what counts. With that in mind, I wish the best of outcomes for both Mrs. Edwards and Mr. Snow, and may they both accomplish a great many things in their respective lives.
