Dying is not a bad thing

From what I am able to track down in my blog, it was six years ago--also on September 8th, and also a Sunday it was--that I first thought of most suitable age when I could die.

75.

That number sounded just right to me.  As I wrote then:

I have experienced a good life, have seen quite a bit of this world, and have met a mix of good and bad people.  ...  And when that end comes, I look forward to a good death, without machines and tubes and chemicals to keep me "alive."

Frankly, I am quite pleased with how I had phrased my thoughts in that context.  Good for me!

If you don't like how I phrased it, well, here is Joseph Epstein:

I have had a good and lucky run, having been born to honorable and intelligent parents in the most interesting country in the world during a period of unrivaled prosperity and vast technological advance. I prefer to think I’ve got the best out of my ability, and have been properly appreciated for what I’ve managed to accomplish. One may regard one’s death as a tragic event, or view it as the ineluctable conclusion to the great good fortune of having been born to begin with. I’m going with the latter.

Death is a certainty.  We might as well plan about how we want to live and die.

A year after that, five years ago almost to the date, I was delighted that a guy with a lot more credibility and influence had also declared that he didn't care to live past 75.   That guy?

Ezekiel Emanuel is director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and heads the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Today, I read this follow-up interview with Emanuel.  In that interview, he reminds us about how much older people suck resources from society:

Lots of presidents and lots of politicians say, “Children are our most valuable resource.” But we as a country don’t behave like that. We don’t invest in children the way we invest in adults, especially older adults. One of the statistics I like to point out is if you look at the federal budget, $7 goes to people over 65 for every dollar for people under 18.

Back when average life expectancy was much lower, grandpa's fortunes became inheritance for grandchildren.  Now, there is nothing for the kids.  No college fund and no taxpayer money either.  So long, suckers!  

Again, a reminder to the two people who want me to live a long life ;)  It is not that I will willingly end my life at 75.  It is just that if the doctor says something like a surgery that will cost a bit will extend my life for another 15 years, I will smilingly say, "no, thanks." DNR!

What am I going to do after 75 anyway?

These people who live a vigorous life to 70, 80, 90 years of age—when I look at what those people “do,” almost all of it is what I classify as play. It’s not meaningful work. They’re riding motorcycles; they’re hiking. Which can all have value—don’t get me wrong. But if it’s the main thing in your life? Ummm, that’s not probably a meaningful life.

I am with Emanuel.  I don't care about life as playing.  Such a life does not appeal to me.  Again, a reminder--I am only talking about my own life.  Whatever works for you, well, go ahead.

In the end, nothing really matters.

The world will exist fine if you happen to die. Great people, maybe even people greater than you, like Newton and Shakespeare and Euler—they died. And guess what? The world’s still there.

Celebrate the fact that you are here and alive.  Do some good deeds, unlike the fascist loyalists in my old and adopted countries.