Comments by "Charles Brightman" (@charlesbrightman4237) on "How Gun Shops Could Help Prevent Gun-Based Suicides (HBO)" video.
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Consider the following:
a. We appear to be individuals in a society of individuals. What's best for an individual, may or may not be what's best for the larger society of individuals. And conversely, what's best for the larger society of individuals, may or may not be what's best for the individual. But, being individuals in a larger society of individuals, we have to exist somehow, someway while we do all exist.
b. While the larger society normally outlasts any single individual, and therefore the larger society normally gets their way over any single individual, doesn't the individual have certain inherent rights over their own life 'and death'? Unless the larger society actually locks up an individual and puts them on a 24 hour suicide watch, couldn't the individual still commit suicide, even if it is against the law, as is often done? That fact alone even gives credence to an individual having the inherent right to be able to commit suicide if they and they alone choose to do so for any reason they might have. And there are many, many ways an individual could end their own life.
c. While many religions profess a belief in 'God' and that we have a conscious afterlife, throughout all of future eternity even, none of that can be proven to be actually true. Sure I acknowledge it might be true, but there is no actual evidence that I am currently aware of that any of that is really true. People might just be believing in fairy tales as if those fairy tales were really true. Here again, it might just be the larger society imposing their beliefs over an individual, an individual who when born, doesn't know much about this life and basically could be told anything at all might be really true. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny even. Many religions have learned to get their subjects when young. And how could a young individual even think otherwise since they have nothing else to compare what they are being told to compare to what the real truth might actually be, other than maybe 'critical thinking' type skills? But even critical thinking type skills take time to acquire and then also the individual having to go against the larger society of established individuals to try to get out what they believe the real truth really is.
d. While main stream modern science does not fully know what 'consciousness' actually is, nor how memories are stored and retrieved, nor how thoughts actually occur, they do all appear to be connected to our physical brain. When our physical brain dies for it's final time, 'we' die, for all of future eternity it currently appears. And sad to say, some people even lose their consciousness, memories and thoughts before they even physically die. The sum total of our existence is only what we leave behind including how our existence affected the larger society that we existed in.
e. The thing is though, that there has to be at least one conscious entity left in the larger society to have continued meaning and purpose to. Otherwise, one day, there will be no conscious entities left for anything or anyone to matter to and all of life itself would all be ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things, at least from Earthling's perspective.
f. It appears that the 6th mass extinction event might truly start this century due to various natural reasons. In addition, main stream modern science claims that this Earth and it's Sun will not last for literally all of future eternity. So, species from this Earth either get off of this Earth and out of this solar system to continue to consciously survive one day, or we are all going to die and go extinct with no conscious entities left from Earth to care about anything or anyone ever again.
g. We NEED less 'military industrial complexes' and less 'spy industrial complexes' and more 'space industrial complexes', for without being successful in space, even the military and spy industrial complexes are eventually meaningless, for even they would have failed to continue to consciously survive. And even those individuals who hide in their safe bunkers when the 6th mass extinction event occurs, (and the 6th most probably won't be the last), will still die one day from something and forget everything they ever knew and experienced, and will even be forgotten one day if no conscious entities are left to remember them. They are only delaying the inevitable.
h. So, with the above said, should an individual be allowed to commit suicide for ANY reason they and they alone might have? I mean, even if the individual actually has an actual eternal conscious existence throughout all of future eternity (as many religions profess and believe), then this life is not the end. The individual just possibly goes into another state of existence. If there won't be any conscious entities left one day anyway, possibly because Earth species failed to get out of this solar system before it ended, (and there are many issues that have to be solved, if they even can be solved, to be truly successful), then life itself would all be ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. So, eternal conscious life in possible another state of existence, or life itself is all ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Which is it in actual reality? There is only one way to truly know, and that would be to experience it first hand, if one even has a consciousness left to experience anything with. They might believe with their whole being that they will have a conscious afterlife, then die one day, lose their consciousness, and never know that they believed in a lie their whole life.
i. But possibly, by truthfully answering the following questions, we as a society of individuals could get closer to the real truth, to try to answer certain questions:
What exactly matters throughout all of future eternity and to whom does it eternally matter to?
"God" alone? and/or "Me" too? and/or "Some other entity or entities"?
OR
"To no eternally consciously existent entities at all"?
(Currently in my analysis, it appears the later to be really true. BUT, as I don't know what I don't know, I will be the first to admit that I could be wrong. But then some sort of actual evidence would have to be shown as to where I am wrong in my analysis.)
But that raises another important question:
What exactly is being done to try to save any species from eternal conscious extinction?
(For without at least one conscious entity still existing throughout all of future eternity, even if only by a continuous evolutionary path, then one day there won't be a conscious entity left to care.)
j. But still, even if this life is all we will ever know, and when we die we will forget even it, and eventually will be forgotten as if we never ever existed at all in the first place, how exactly do we, individually and as a society of individuals, want to exist while we do exist? We do have choices, with all the consequences and ramifications, seen and unseen, of those choices. Do we allow people to commit suicide or don't we? If so, for any reason at all or only for certain reasons? Do they and they alone get to decide the fate of their own life and death, or don't they? And even if laws are passed to make it illegal by society's standards, couldn't the individual do it anyway? What is society going to do, arrest a dead person? And society can't lock up everybody and put everybody on a 24 hour suicide watch. Who would be watching the watchers? But, what exactly do we all choose? And regardless of whatever we choose, does it all matter anyway?
k. And what about terminally ill people who might be in pain, either physical or mental pain? Society would rather prolong their suffering just so they could have more self worth for themselves?
l. Committing suicide is not necessarily a mental illness. Sometimes, it's just the right thing to do.
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Consider the following:
a. We appear to be individuals in a society of individuals. What's best for an individual, may or may not be what's best for the larger society of individuals. And conversely, what's best for the larger society of individuals, may or may not be what's best for the individual. But, being individuals in a larger society of individuals, we have to exist somehow, someway while we do all exist.
b. While the larger society normally outlasts any single individual, and therefore the larger society normally gets their way over any single individual, doesn't the individual have certain inherent rights over their own life 'and death'? Unless the larger society actually locks up an individual and puts them on a 24 hour suicide watch, couldn't the individual still commit suicide, even if it is against the law, as is often done? That fact alone even gives credence to an individual having the inherent right to be able to commit suicide if they and they alone choose to do so for any reason they might have. And there are many, many ways an individual could end their own life.
c. While many religions profess a belief in 'God' and that we have a conscious afterlife, throughout all of future eternity even, none of that can be proven to be actually true. Sure I acknowledge it might be true, but there is no actual evidence that I am currently aware of that any of that is really true. People might just be believing in fairy tales as if those fairy tales were really true. Here again, it might just be the larger society imposing their beliefs over an individual, an individual who when born, doesn't know much about this life and basically could be told anything at all might be really true. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny even. Many religions have learned to get their subjects when young. And how could a young individual even think otherwise since they have nothing else to compare what they are being told to compare to what the real truth might actually be, other than maybe 'critical thinking' type skills? But even critical thinking type skills take time to acquire and then also the individual having to go against the larger society of established individuals to try to get out what they believe the real truth really is.
d. While main stream modern science does not fully know what 'consciousness' actually is, nor how memories are stored and retrieved, nor how thoughts actually occur, they do all appear to be connected to our physical brain. When our physical brain dies for it's final time, 'we' die, for all of future eternity it currently appears. And sad to say, some people even lose their consciousness, memories and thoughts before they even physically die. The sum total of our existence is only what we leave behind including how our existence affected the larger society that we existed in.
e. The thing is though, that there has to be at least one conscious entity left in the larger society to have continued meaning and purpose to. Otherwise, one day, there will be no conscious entities left for anything or anyone to matter to and all of life itself would all be ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things, at least from Earthling's perspective.
f. It appears that the 6th mass extinction event might truly start this century due to various natural reasons. In addition, main stream modern science claims that this Earth and it's Sun will not last for literally all of future eternity. So, species from this Earth either get off of this Earth and out of this solar system to continue to consciously survive one day, or we are all going to die and go extinct with no conscious entities left from Earth to care about anything or anyone ever again.
g. We NEED less 'military industrial complexes' and less 'spy industrial complexes' and more 'space industrial complexes', for without being successful in space, even the military and spy industrial complexes are eventually meaningless, for even they would have failed to continue to consciously survive. And even those individuals who hide in their safe bunkers when the 6th mass extinction event occurs, (and the 6th most probably won't be the last), will still die one day from something and forget everything they ever knew and experienced, and will even be forgotten one day if no conscious entities are left to remember them. They are only delaying the inevitable.
h. So, with the above said, should an individual be allowed to commit suicide for ANY reason they and they alone might have? I mean, even if the individual actually has an actual eternal conscious existence throughout all of future eternity (as many religions profess and believe), then this life is not the end. The individual just possibly goes into another state of existence. If there won't be any conscious entities left one day anyway, possibly because Earth species failed to get out of this solar system before it ended, (and there are many issues that have to be solved, if they even can be solved, to be truly successful), then life itself would all be ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. So, eternal conscious life in possible another state of existence, or life itself is all ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Which is it in actual reality? There is only one way to truly know, and that would be to experience it first hand, if one even has a consciousness left to experience anything with. They might believe with their whole being that they will have a conscious afterlife, then die one day, lose their consciousness, and never know that they believed in a lie their whole life.
i. But possibly, by truthfully answering the following questions, we as a society of individuals could get closer to the real truth, to try to answer certain questions:
What exactly matters throughout all of future eternity and to whom does it eternally matter to?
"God" alone? and/or "Me" too? and/or "Some other entity or entities"?
OR
"To no eternally consciously existent entities at all"?
(Currently in my analysis, it appears the later to be really true. BUT, as I don't know what I don't know, I will be the first to admit that I could be wrong. But then some sort of actual evidence would have to be shown as to where I am wrong in my analysis.)
But that raises another important question:
What exactly is being done to try to save any species from eternal conscious extinction?
(For without at least one conscious entity still existing throughout all of future eternity, even if only by a continuous evolutionary path, then one day there won't be a conscious entity left to care.)
j. But still, even if this life is all we will ever know, and when we die we will forget even it, and eventually will be forgotten as if we never ever existed at all in the first place, how exactly do we, individually and as a society of individuals, want to exist while we do exist? We do have choices, with all the consequences and ramifications, seen and unseen, of those choices. Do we allow people to commit suicide or don't we? If so, for any reason at all or only for certain reasons? Do they and they alone get to decide the fate of their own life and death, or don't they? And even if laws are passed to make it illegal by society's standards, couldn't the individual do it anyway? What is society going to do, arrest a dead person? And society can't lock up everybody and put everybody on a 24 hour suicide watch. Who would be watching the watchers? But, what exactly do we all choose? And regardless of whatever we choose, does it all matter anyway?
k. And what about terminally ill people who might be in pain, either physical or mental pain? Society would rather prolong their suffering just so they could have more self worth for themselves?
l. Committing suicide is not necessarily a mental illness. Sometimes, it's just the right thing to do.
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