Noam's+Response

media type="file" key="noamk-drted-euthanasia-0910.mp3"

Dear Dr. Ted, I’m glad to know that you vehemently oppose any form of assisted suicide based on your humble opinions of the intrinsic value of human life-always a comforting trait in one who identifies themselves as a doctor. Furthermore, I appreciate your watchdog approach that current attitudes in the modern media necessitate. After seeing the ease with which the Nazis ‘purged’ their society of such ‘invalids’ we must all fear the ramifications of such propaganda. For it is well known how susceptible most people are to such contrivances, being swayed from one stalwart view to another by a single, cleverly crafted film. The evils perpetrated by Goebbels epitomize the effects such blatant, yet cleverly disguised, propaganda can have on such an innocent people. The German people, once lauded for their culture and civility, soon became transformed, powerless to resist or even question Goebbel’s work. As such, one must think similarly of those of the American people who did not cry out in rage at the atrocity that is Million Dollar Baby. Indeed, I must say that I fear all too many left the theatre profoundly changed, not only accepting euthanasia but validating such mercy killings. It would be of little surprise to see people taking up the vigilante’s sword and putting the disabled “out of their misery”, if only because we do not yet have an “acceptable” government system for murder. In fact, the very legal system that is supposed to represent “equality for all” holds grave bias against the handicapped, as seen in Diane zum Brunnen’s lawsuit against Clint Eastwood himself. It is an embarrassing injustice that a jury of ‘good’ citizens acquitted Eastwood of this egregious crime, basically OKing discrimination against the handicapped and endorsing elitist exception to the requisites of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Admittedly, many of the accusations brought against Eastwood in court were false, but that is irrelevant, for it is an extreme example that makes the point. Seriously, what kind of self-righteous bastard is he to not fix ramps only 4 years after the signing of ADA, on a ranch that he just renovated and is trying to preserve the historical appeal of? Eastwood’s deep prejudice against the disabled only becomes more apparent as one looks at his filmmaking. Million Dollar Baby is NOT a poignant film about one woman’s life, her personal goals, and her individual struggles; nor is it simply prompting people to consider the moral ambiguity that exists in everyday life. It most definitely and irreconcilably is, as you say, a “brilliantly executed attack!” For any story that ends in assisted suicide—perpetrated murder—can never be considered of artistic value, just as anything that discourses upon a taboo topic cannot be allowed to be considered of literary merit. Eastwood’s vendetta against the disabled can only be gaining momentum, for history is bound to repeat itself, and we are obviously well on our way to paralleling the course of Nazi Germany. How else does genocide start by the ideas of a mere few men? We are, with trends like this, but a few small steps away from sliding down the slippery slope and murdering 12 million people in mercy killings they never wanted.