The Five Most Deplorable Wastes of Human Life

God created life and therefore it is precious. It should not be taken away without just cause. It should not be endangered in a flippant or careless manner. It should be nurtured and protected to the fullest extent of the law. All too often, though, human life is treated as expendable by governments and average citizens alike. Convenience, pleasure, revenge, power, politics, and even outright indifference sometimes get a higher priority than human life. Due to those kinds of attitudes, human life is wasted on a daily basis. Every waste of human life is shameful, but there are five particularly deplorable ways in which it is destroyed. I would like to briefly discuss each of them.

(1) Abortion. If abortion is not a deplorable waste of human life, there aren't any. Obviously, there are exceptions like cases of rape, non-consensual incest, and situations in which the life or health of the mother is at stake. Abortion for any other reason is nothing but legalized murder. No, convenience is not a justifiable reason for snuffing out the lives of unborn children before they get a chance to take their first breath.

Feminists, Planned Parenthood, N.O.W., liberals, and those who are too spineless to speak up for what is right can call it a "woman's choice" issue all they want, but it doesn't change the sad reality. Yes, I do believe women should have control over their own bodies, including reproductive rights, but that's not the issue here. In fact, that whole argument is a red herring. Women can choose to not get pregnant. Whether through abstaining from sex or using reliable methods of birth control, it's their choice. Taking another human life, on the other hand, should not be a choice that's available to any individual in a civilized society.

(2) Unnecessary wars. There's nothing sadder than reading or hearing the names of young, vital, and talented young men and women who have been cut in down in the prime of their lives in a war that did not have to be fought.

Sometimes wars are unavoidable. Often, there are evil aggressors in the world who won't respond to anything but brute force. In those cases, not fighting a war could ultimately cost more lives than actually fighting it.

However, many times there are viable alternatives to war, such as diplomatic maneuvers and containment. No war should ever be fought until all of those options have been exhausted. Unfortunately, there are leaders all over the world who are, at times, determined to go to war, regardless of the other available options. Political ambition or the drive to enhance their popularity at home often prompts leaders to send their young citizens off to war. Greed and the drive to seize more territory are motivating factors for other heads of state. Others are driven by bogus intelligence and unsubstantiated fear into fighting preemptive wars. Still others are well-intentioned individuals who honestly believe their war efforts are making the world a safer place. They seem to forget that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

(3) Executions of non-violent offenders. Many countries around world impose the ultimate sanction on those found guilty of crimes that range from drug possession to adultery. Even many countries that have never been guilty of this practice sometimes appear to condone it.

I can understand any country wanting to show its displeasure with certain types of crimes, even though they may not involve violence. I can also appreciate the fact that even some types of non-violent crimes are particularly heinous and that there are requirements for strong deterrents to them.

However, committing any act of violence (execution, torture, etc.) against a non-violent offender is completely unethical and immoral and never justified. Non-violent offenders, unlike many of their violent counterparts, can usually be rehabilitated. If justice, not rehabilitation, is the goal, then they can be sufficiently punished with prison time.

(4) HIV/AIDS. Deaths from this disease are so regrettable because they are so preventable. The extremely sad part is that there are innocent victims like children and those receiving blood transfusions, who contract this pernicious disease through no fault of their own.

While those who get it as a result of their own risky behavior deserve our sympathy, they are not innocent victims, despite what the liberal media might have us think. No one has to get HIV/AIDS. The spread of the disease could be completely halted if people would only start making the correct decisions, i.e., to not do illegal drugs and to postpone sexual activity until marriage. Yes, for those who cannot control their own desires, "safe sex" should be emphasized. However, it is never as foolproof as abstinence.

Now, granted, in some third world countries, many people lack the education required to make these decisions. We should be willing to spend the necessary money to make sure they get that education, if it will help abolish the scourge of this disease from our world. However, I can't help believing that most people know better, but just don't care. The fleeting pleasure of immoral sexual activity and illicit drugs is more important to them than their own health and the health of the world community.

(5) Drunk/irresponsible driving. Everyone makes mistakes while driving (or doing anything else). People will occasionally become distracted, momentarily look away from the road, fail to properly monitor their mirrors, etc. Sometimes those mistakes have deadly consequences. However, I don't consider deaths from the occasional and inevitable mistake to be among the most shameful wastes of human life.

What I'm talking about here is intentional and/or habitual behavior that leads the loss of life. People continue to get behind the wheel after drinking too much, despite being warned over and over again about the dangers. Others just have to drive at least ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit, no matter what. They don't seem to understand the fact that how they arrive at their destination is more important than when they get there. Still others feel the need to constantly drive aggressively and take unnecessary risks. People who practice those kinds of behavior are accidents waiting to happen. Deaths resulting from those accidents are so lamentable because they could all be avoided with a little patience and common sense.

About the Author

Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He also serves as a political columnist for American Daily and operates his own website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.