Julian Buck
Project Three Lesson plan.
Start off - Introduce myself, and say "well I'm here to tell you a story... but first I'd like to ask a question. How many of you guys know somebody who is really, really old?"
Wait for answer and ask how many, then say, " well the story I'm going to tell you is about a really old man from Midwest..."
(semi add-lib: this is a general outline of story with illustrations. not to be said word for word)
The old man was walking down by a lake when he saw some glowing antlers on on the ground. intrigued he went over and picked them up to examine them. He started to get dizzy so he put them down and decided to go home to his cottage and lie down. when he woke up he heard so many voices, but there were no people. Soon he realized he could hear animals speaking! he was so happy but when he stood up to jump for joy, he realized his feet had become hoofs, and his hands started to look like antlers. he said to himself "what the... what's happening to me? OH NO I HAVE MOOSE SYNDROME." moose syndrome is a terminal illness that makes its victims become a moose to death!
now the man was so sad that he was now a Moose man that went running through the forest to the cliffs hanging over the sea. he knew that he was going to die, so he decided that he was going to jump over the cliffs to kill himself, but just as he reached the cliffs, he was confronted by a big gray fox named Euth. Euth came running from the forest and yelled, "Moose man wait! don't Kill yourself!"
upset, Moose man answered, "Why? I'm going to die anyway. just leave me alone!"
Now Euth knew that he was going to say that, so in response he said, "wait Moose man, don't do this. you could make a mistake, and instead of dying you may just hurt yourself really badly! come with me, I want to take you to someone that can help you end your suffering painless and easily." Moose man agreed, and off they went. Through the huge forest and the crusty swamp they ran, not stopping for a moments rest. Finally they came to a road, and at the end of the road was a little house. slowly they walked up to the house. When the reached the door it opened up and inside was a happy little man in a doctors outfit. Looking at Moose man, he said, "Hi! I'm doctor D.! Welcome to my home. Come on in." So inside they went.
They spoke for a while, the three of them did, explaining the situation to one another, when finally doctor D stoop up and said, "well Moose man I understand what your going through. Come with me I have to show you something." So the two of them went to Doctor D's Kitchen and doctor D took a cup out of the refrigerator. Doctor D then turned to Moose man and said, "Here Moose man, drink this magical shake. It will help you end all of you suffering peacefully and easily."
Moose man was so happy! He said to doctor D, " Thank you so much Doctor. You sure have made this easy for me. Now I can go in peace and on my terms. Ill never forget you." Moose man then left the kitchen and found Euth. Looking at the cup in his hands, he said, "Euth, if it wasn't for you I would have seriously hurt myself and made you feel really sad. I'm so glad I have a good friend like you. Well, Bottoms up!" Having said that, Moose man proceeded to drink the magical shake. Slowly he laid down, closed his eyes, and and went to bed for the last time.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Timed Writing
In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Cambell explains the steps a hero takes while completing his or her journey. Described in many mythological as well as modern stories, a hero needs to overcome a series of obsticles to complete the task he or she set out to do. Whether it be to resuce a damsel in destress or to save a village from an evil creature, the hero must have the mental strength and cunning to defeat whatever problems await on the path he or she has chosen. These steps are the call to adventure, refusal of the call, supernatural aid, the crossing of the first threshold, the belly of the whale, road of trials, the meeting with the goddess, woman as temptress, atonement with the father, apotheosis and the ultimate boon.
Two pieces we read this year which relate to Joseph Cambell's, "hero's journey," are the stories of Titanic described in the Vogler reading and Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway. Both of these stories contain basic Campbellian structure throughout their entirety, as they each possess an initial call to adventure, (Titanic - Jack and Rose making the voyage across the atlantic; Indian Camp - Nick, Dad and Uncle George set out to help a native woman at a distant camp,) a series of trials which need to be conquered, (Titanic - breaking the physical and class boundaries to be with one another; Indian Camp - helping the woman give birth with very primative tools and harsh conditions) and a return to life with new knowledge, (Titanic - Rose returning home with a new outlook on the world; Indian Camp - the knowledge that death is possibilty.)
When working on project three, I've found that Campbell's theory does relate to the journey I took part in . For no reason other then what I would consider a "calling" did i decide to pick doctor assisted suicide as my topic, and if it wasn't for the satire piece we wrote during project two, (which could be seen as a supernatural aid,) I would have never written my third letter as a satire piece as well. Although Campbell may be a pain to read, the messge he brings fourth can relate to many things that we all experience in everyday life.
Two pieces we read this year which relate to Joseph Cambell's, "hero's journey," are the stories of Titanic described in the Vogler reading and Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway. Both of these stories contain basic Campbellian structure throughout their entirety, as they each possess an initial call to adventure, (Titanic - Jack and Rose making the voyage across the atlantic; Indian Camp - Nick, Dad and Uncle George set out to help a native woman at a distant camp,) a series of trials which need to be conquered, (Titanic - breaking the physical and class boundaries to be with one another; Indian Camp - helping the woman give birth with very primative tools and harsh conditions) and a return to life with new knowledge, (Titanic - Rose returning home with a new outlook on the world; Indian Camp - the knowledge that death is possibilty.)
When working on project three, I've found that Campbell's theory does relate to the journey I took part in . For no reason other then what I would consider a "calling" did i decide to pick doctor assisted suicide as my topic, and if it wasn't for the satire piece we wrote during project two, (which could be seen as a supernatural aid,) I would have never written my third letter as a satire piece as well. Although Campbell may be a pain to read, the messge he brings fourth can relate to many things that we all experience in everyday life.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Letter to the organization (ERGO)
To whom it may concern,
I am a 19 year old student studying at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl. Recently, I had been working a research project on doctor assisted-suicide when I came across an article on assistedsuicide.org posted by your organization. I am writing you concerning my own beliefs on the topic.
Having read through the article, as well as other articles on assistedsuicide.org, I have decided that I am 100 percent pro doctor assisted-suicide. Prior to reading the article, I had been reading articles posted online by groups who are against assisted-suicide. After the seventh article I was just about prepared to take a meat mallet and hit myself repeatedly in the foot to stop my brain from hurting. Luckily I read about ERGO's position and I finally stopped ripping the hair from my head. It was great to learn that there was at least one legitimate organization whose views were in agreement with my own.
There is one idea that I would like to put out there which you may or may not agree with, however. I understand that it is a wonderful thing to help a terminally ill patient end his or her life, but there is one group of people who I feel should be encouraged to take the same steps to end their lives as they are truly detrimental to the youthful and growing society in which we live today. This group is known as the senior citizens, (aka. the elderly, geezers, old people, etc.) While living in St. Petersburg, I have been forced to experience the senior citizen problem first hand. Driving has become a nightmare experience, as I have had no less than five near death experiences involving old, incapable drivers behind the wheels of cars over the past three months. I have had noise complaints made against me and my friends at 8 p.m.. because the music was too loud on three separate occasions over the past two weeks! Where will it stop? I believe that we as a society need to find a solution to this rapidly growing problem before it is too late.
I know this whole idea may seem a bit ridiculous to even consider, but I implore you to try and look at this from a youthful perspective. If you feel you can do this, just sit down and ask yourself, what would the world be like without the elderly?
I can't wait to hear how you feel about this menacing situation.
Sincerely,
Julian Buck
I am a 19 year old student studying at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl. Recently, I had been working a research project on doctor assisted-suicide when I came across an article on assistedsuicide.org posted by your organization. I am writing you concerning my own beliefs on the topic.
Having read through the article, as well as other articles on assistedsuicide.org, I have decided that I am 100 percent pro doctor assisted-suicide. Prior to reading the article, I had been reading articles posted online by groups who are against assisted-suicide. After the seventh article I was just about prepared to take a meat mallet and hit myself repeatedly in the foot to stop my brain from hurting. Luckily I read about ERGO's position and I finally stopped ripping the hair from my head. It was great to learn that there was at least one legitimate organization whose views were in agreement with my own.
There is one idea that I would like to put out there which you may or may not agree with, however. I understand that it is a wonderful thing to help a terminally ill patient end his or her life, but there is one group of people who I feel should be encouraged to take the same steps to end their lives as they are truly detrimental to the youthful and growing society in which we live today. This group is known as the senior citizens, (aka. the elderly, geezers, old people, etc.) While living in St. Petersburg, I have been forced to experience the senior citizen problem first hand. Driving has become a nightmare experience, as I have had no less than five near death experiences involving old, incapable drivers behind the wheels of cars over the past three months. I have had noise complaints made against me and my friends at 8 p.m.. because the music was too loud on three separate occasions over the past two weeks! Where will it stop? I believe that we as a society need to find a solution to this rapidly growing problem before it is too late.
I know this whole idea may seem a bit ridiculous to even consider, but I implore you to try and look at this from a youthful perspective. If you feel you can do this, just sit down and ask yourself, what would the world be like without the elderly?
I can't wait to hear how you feel about this menacing situation.
Sincerely,
Julian Buck
Letter to the organization (ITF)
To whom it may concern,
I am a 19 year old student studying at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl. Recently, I had been working on a research project involving doctor assisted-suicide when I came across an article written by Rita L. Marker posted on your website. I am writing to you in hope that I will get some closure as to why the ITF put this article on its website.
In Ms. Marker's article, she uses Oregon's death with dignity act as the main basis for her position against doctor assisted-suicide. Personally, I am for assisted-suicide, but I feel that I was able to read the article objectively and without bias. Although it was very interesting reading about her theories and explanations as to why doctor assisted-suicide should be illegal, I had a few problems with some of the facts she used as they seemed to be distorted or untrue.
The first "fact" that I had a problem with was the statement, "* Complications or other problems associated with assisted suicide are almost impossible to determine." Though this statement might be true, it has little or no relevance to the actuality of the topic. The fact is that if someone does choose to end their life, the only possible complication would be that they were still alive. If the patient is dead, then the treatment worked; There really is nothing else to it. It was as if the statement was just added to confuse those who read it.
The second "fact" that I had a problem with was the statement, "* Schools can inform students that assisted-suicide is an acceptable medical choice." This statement absolutely baffled me. Can't schools inform students about murder, rape, or any other heinous thought you can think of? Why is it that Ms. Marker feels that it is bad to teach students about a legitimate medical procedure? That sort of brainwashing statement reminds me of statements made by those who opposed the teaching of evolution during the monkey trial.
You have to understand, I really did enjoy reading most of the article. Some of the arguments were presented in a scholarly fashion, but statements like these two seemed childish and down right disrespectful. If your organization really wanted to convince people that your position was the right one, I'd strongly urge you not to post articles which makes it's readers feel like they are being treated like idiots and find more legitimate reasons as to why assisted-suicide should be criminalized.
I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Sincerely,
Julian Buck
I am a 19 year old student studying at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl. Recently, I had been working on a research project involving doctor assisted-suicide when I came across an article written by Rita L. Marker posted on your website. I am writing to you in hope that I will get some closure as to why the ITF put this article on its website.
In Ms. Marker's article, she uses Oregon's death with dignity act as the main basis for her position against doctor assisted-suicide. Personally, I am for assisted-suicide, but I feel that I was able to read the article objectively and without bias. Although it was very interesting reading about her theories and explanations as to why doctor assisted-suicide should be illegal, I had a few problems with some of the facts she used as they seemed to be distorted or untrue.
The first "fact" that I had a problem with was the statement, "* Complications or other problems associated with assisted suicide are almost impossible to determine." Though this statement might be true, it has little or no relevance to the actuality of the topic. The fact is that if someone does choose to end their life, the only possible complication would be that they were still alive. If the patient is dead, then the treatment worked; There really is nothing else to it. It was as if the statement was just added to confuse those who read it.
The second "fact" that I had a problem with was the statement, "* Schools can inform students that assisted-suicide is an acceptable medical choice." This statement absolutely baffled me. Can't schools inform students about murder, rape, or any other heinous thought you can think of? Why is it that Ms. Marker feels that it is bad to teach students about a legitimate medical procedure? That sort of brainwashing statement reminds me of statements made by those who opposed the teaching of evolution during the monkey trial.
You have to understand, I really did enjoy reading most of the article. Some of the arguments were presented in a scholarly fashion, but statements like these two seemed childish and down right disrespectful. If your organization really wanted to convince people that your position was the right one, I'd strongly urge you not to post articles which makes it's readers feel like they are being treated like idiots and find more legitimate reasons as to why assisted-suicide should be criminalized.
I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Sincerely,
Julian Buck
Letter to the organization (Evangelization Fund)
To whom it may concern,
I am a 19 year old student studying at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl. Recently, I had been working on a research project involving doctor assisted-suicide when I came across the article, "'Thou Shalt Not Kill': The Church Against Assisted Suicide" by John Bookser Feister. I am writing to you concerning your organizations position against the rights of those who wish to die.
After reading Mr. Feister's article, I have come to the alarming conclusion that your organization, in combination with the Catholic church, has actually convinced its members that aiding in the suffering of a terminally ill patient by prolonging his or her life is the right choice to make in all cases. If what I say in this letter offends you, I apologize with all sincerity. In no way do I mean to insult you personally or your faith, but I can't help the fact that I disagree with your stance.
The statements presented connecting Euthanasia to the desecration of true compassion was really the driving force behind me writing this letter. Disregarding anything else contained in the article, the short few lines explaining these claims was frankly unbearable to read as I know for a fact that Euthanasia can be used to end a sick persons suffering; thus exhibiting ultimate compassion. If this were a proper essay, I would name countless examples to try and convince you as to why this was true, but they wouldn't be my own. Instead, I am only going to give one.
A few years ago, my great aunt Rose had multiple strokes and was confined to a hospital bed for four weeks. while she was there she had little control of her movements and was constantly in agonizing pain. To make matters worse, due to an allergic reaction she was unable to take any medication to dull the pain. This was a lady who, at 93, went from being able to drive a car and play with her grandkids to being a near vegetable overnight. Everyone, including the doctors, new that there was no chance for recovery. When I went with my mother to see her, she told us that she wanted to just end her life so the pain would stop, but there was nothing we could do. My whole family was legally bound to sit and watch as my aunt suffered through a long, slow death.
Having told you this story, I have to ask you, how was keeping her alive an example of compassion? Why did she need to suffer through the last four weeks of her life?
I eagerly await your response.
Sincerely,
Julian Buck
I am a 19 year old student studying at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fl. Recently, I had been working on a research project involving doctor assisted-suicide when I came across the article, "'Thou Shalt Not Kill': The Church Against Assisted Suicide" by John Bookser Feister. I am writing to you concerning your organizations position against the rights of those who wish to die.
After reading Mr. Feister's article, I have come to the alarming conclusion that your organization, in combination with the Catholic church, has actually convinced its members that aiding in the suffering of a terminally ill patient by prolonging his or her life is the right choice to make in all cases. If what I say in this letter offends you, I apologize with all sincerity. In no way do I mean to insult you personally or your faith, but I can't help the fact that I disagree with your stance.
The statements presented connecting Euthanasia to the desecration of true compassion was really the driving force behind me writing this letter. Disregarding anything else contained in the article, the short few lines explaining these claims was frankly unbearable to read as I know for a fact that Euthanasia can be used to end a sick persons suffering; thus exhibiting ultimate compassion. If this were a proper essay, I would name countless examples to try and convince you as to why this was true, but they wouldn't be my own. Instead, I am only going to give one.
A few years ago, my great aunt Rose had multiple strokes and was confined to a hospital bed for four weeks. while she was there she had little control of her movements and was constantly in agonizing pain. To make matters worse, due to an allergic reaction she was unable to take any medication to dull the pain. This was a lady who, at 93, went from being able to drive a car and play with her grandkids to being a near vegetable overnight. Everyone, including the doctors, new that there was no chance for recovery. When I went with my mother to see her, she told us that she wanted to just end her life so the pain would stop, but there was nothing we could do. My whole family was legally bound to sit and watch as my aunt suffered through a long, slow death.
Having told you this story, I have to ask you, how was keeping her alive an example of compassion? Why did she need to suffer through the last four weeks of her life?
I eagerly await your response.
Sincerely,
Julian Buck
Three Organizations
ITF - the international task force against euthanasia
This group seems to have a good start towards raising awareness about the dangers of euthanasia and doctor assisted suicide, but the reasons used in the specific letter I'm responding to were absolutely appalling. In my letter I'm going to challenge there reasoning and ask for a response as to why their defense is so flimsy.
ERGO - euthanasia research and guidance organization
I like this group. I agree with their beliefs that doctor assisted suicide should be legalized, but I think I'm going to propose a new idea on how we as a nation could better use our euthanasia resources.
The Evangelization Fund
I do not believe that God's will is any reason to keep a dying man or woman in pain until their death. Hopefully I do not offend anyone involved with this group in my response.
This group seems to have a good start towards raising awareness about the dangers of euthanasia and doctor assisted suicide, but the reasons used in the specific letter I'm responding to were absolutely appalling. In my letter I'm going to challenge there reasoning and ask for a response as to why their defense is so flimsy.
ERGO - euthanasia research and guidance organization
I like this group. I agree with their beliefs that doctor assisted suicide should be legalized, but I think I'm going to propose a new idea on how we as a nation could better use our euthanasia resources.
The Evangelization Fund
I do not believe that God's will is any reason to keep a dying man or woman in pain until their death. Hopefully I do not offend anyone involved with this group in my response.
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