A Man, Well Into His Forties, Lies Helplessly In The Cold Room Of The

A man, well into his forties, lies helplessly in the cold room of the hospital. He eagerly waits for the results of his tests that are to be hand delivered by the warm-hearted doctor. He lies there, his skin is pasty white, his body is slowly deteriorating both inside and out, and his hair is gradually falling out. Yet somehow the man manages to fight for his life, striving to be able to go home to his wife, play football with his son, and take his dog Nasia, for a walk. In the faint distance the man can hear the footsteps of the doctor, the sound intensifying as the doctor get closer. As the physician approaches the door the man's heart thumps louder, and faster, in sync with the sound of the footsteps. Nervously the doctor opens the door, walks inside, and gives the ill man an artificial smile, the kind people give when they pose for pictures. A sound comes out, and the man hears the doctor say, "you have lung cancer, and it is terminal." His once beating heart sinks to the floor, and all hope flies out of the window into the realm of death. The man, pondering the long road of agony ahead, says to the doctor, "I do not wish to suffer the effects of the cancer, I want to die." He continues by asking the question every doctor fears to answer, "Can you give me something to end my life?" This process is known as euthanasia. The word stems from Greek origin meaning "good death." In general, euthanasia is the process of a physician killing a human being who suffers from a painfully terminal disease to bring them peace. The topic has become quite controversial throughout the United States as well as the rest of the world. Advocates feel that each and every person has the right to be able to choose how they live, and how they die. They claim that everyone should have the privilege of controlling their own destiny. Opponents of mercy killing argue that the act is immoral and would have a negative effect on the social and moral standings of society. They believe that life and death should only be in the hands of God. There are two types of euthanasia, passive and active. Passive euthanasia is taking away or withholding treatment even if the person is going to die. Active euthanasia is assisting the patient who suffers from the terminal illness to die by giving them drugs or injections. While many argue that only the passive type of euthanasia is acceptable, others argue that morally, there is not a difference between the two, and that neither of them should be conducted. Activists of euthanasia claim that it would be killing in the name of compassion. They argue that any passionate and humane character would not want to see their loved one suffer especially when there is no hope for recovery. Supporters of this technique believe that they are actually helping the sickly individual by easing their discomforts and releasing them of their pains and letting them go on to a "better place," free of harm, and illnesses. Adversaries of euthanasia state that it is merely degrading the human life. They support God's sovereignty of human life, contesting that it is too sacred and too valuable to be taken away by anyone other than God. Enemies of euthanasia have many questions that are left unanswered. For instance, if euthanasia was to become legalized, where do we stop or start? How advanced must the illness be? Are the doctors 100 percent right about the diagnosis? Which illnesses are "treatable" by euthanasia? Are handicaps to be included? Where do we draw the line and who is to make the final decision? Are those in pain even getting the right medicine, the right dosage? Has every treatment option been explored, should they be? These questions cannot be fully answered for every situation that occurs, which leaves many people unsure about the idea of euthanasia and its morality. Supporters on the other hand would state that these questions do not have to be answered by any professional, but by the patients themselves. If they are uncomfortable, depressed, and

The 100 Most Important Words in English

The 100 Most Important Words in English This list of important words was drawn up by British rhetorician I.A. Richards, author of several books including Basic English and Its Uses (1943). However, these 100 words are not a part of the simplified version of the language that he and C.K. Ogden called Basic English. Also, were not talking about the 100 most frequently used words in English (a list that contains far more prepositions than nouns). And unlike the 100 words chosen by David Crystal to tell The Story of English, Richards words are primarily significant for their meanings, not their etymologies. Richards introduced his list of words in the book How to Read a Page: A Course in Effective Reading (1942), and he called them the most important words for two reasons: They cover the ideas we can least avoid using, those which are concerned in all that we do as thinking beings.They are words we are forced to use in explaining other words because it is in terms of the ideas they cover that the meanings of other words must be given. Here are those 100 important words: AmountArgumentArtBeBeautifulBeliefCauseCertainChanceChangeClearCommonComparisonConditionConnectionCopyDecisionDegreeDesireDevelopmentDifferentDoEducationEndEventExamplesExistenceExperienceFactFearFeelingFictionForceFormFreeGeneralGetGiveGoodGovernmentHappyHaveHistoryIdeaImportantInterestKnowledgeLawLetLevelLivingLoveMakeMaterialMeasureMindMotionNameNationNaturalNecessaryNormalNumberObservationOppositeOrderOrganizationPartPlacePleasurePossiblePowerProbablePropertyPurposeQualityQuestionReasonRelationRepresentativeRespectResponsibleRightSameSayScienceSeeSeemSenseSignSimpleSocietySortSpecialSubstanceThingThoughtTrueUseWayWiseWordWork All these words carry multiple meanings, and they can say quite different things to different readers. For that reason, Richards list could just as well have been labeled The 100 Most Ambiguous Words: The very usefulness which gives them their importance explains their ambiguity. They are the servants of too many interests to keep to single, clearly defined jobs. Technical words in the sciences are like adzes, planes, gimlets, or razors. A word like experience, or feeling, or true is like a pocketknife. In good hands it will do most things- not very well. In general we will find that the more important a word is, and the more central and necessary its meanings are in our pictures of ourselves and the world, the more ambiguous and possibly deceiving the word will be. In an earlier book, The Making of Meaning (1923), Richards (and co-author C.K. Ogden) had explored the fundamental notion that meaning doesnt reside in words themselves. Rather, meaning is rhetorical: Its fashioned out of both a verbal context (the words surrounding the words) and the experiences of the individual reader. No surprise, then, that miscommunication is often the result when the important words come into play. Its this idea of miscommunicating through language that led Richards to conclude that all of us are developing our reading skills all the time: Whenever we use words in forming some judgment or decision, we are, in what may be a painfully sharp sense, learning to read (How to Read a Page.) There are actually 103 words on Richards top-100 list. The bonus words, he said, are meant to incite the reader to the task of cutting out those he sees no point in and adding any he pleases, and to discourage the notion that there is anything sacrosanct about a hundred, or any other number. Your List So with those thoughts in mind, its now time to create a list of what you think are the most important words. Sources Crystal, David.  The Story of English.  St. Martins Press, 2012, New York.Richards, I.A.  Basic English  and  Its Uses. W.W. Norton Co., 1943, New York. Richards, I.A. How to Read a Page: A Course in Effective Reading. Beacon Press, 1942, Boston.Ogden, C.K. and Richards, I.A. The Making of Meaning.  Harcourt, 1923, New York.