“In my practice, I’ve seen how people have allowed their humanity to drain away. Only it happened slowly instead of all at once. They didn’t seem to mind… All of us – a little bit – we harden our hearts, grow callous. Only when we have to fight to stay human do we realize how precious it is to us, how dear…”
***
Sheena Iyengar, author of The Art of Choosing, meanwhile, thinks the answer may be to increase information and remove choices, and effectively defer to expert decision-makers.
Her example is the difference in the way doctors handle life-support decisions in France versus America.
In France, doctors pull the plug unless the family challenges them, while in America, the family has to decide.
The result: “French families weren’t as angry or confused about what had happened, and focused much less on how things might have been or should have been.”
***
“They’re taking you over cell for cell, atom for atom. There is no pain. Suddenly, while you’re asleep, they’ll absorb your minds, your memories and you’re reborn into an untroubled world…Tomorrow you’ll be one of us…There’s no need for love…Love. Desire. Ambition. Faith.
