Historically, November has always been the month of the year in many cultures where individuals mused on their dead and prayed for them; hence the abbreviation R.I.P. for the briefest of prayers "may he/she rest in peace".
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In an otherwise death-denying society, I can't think of a year in my life where we have been more afraid of death than 2020 and hence, gone to the greatest lengths to avoid it.
I don't blame us; we were - and still are - up against the most contagiously deadly virus in over 100 years.
Yet, there is a paradox here.
Data released by the ABS last week (Wednesday, October 28) have revealed deaths in Australia have been below historical averages since mid-May, deaths for June were considerably lower than historic averages and that even deaths from respiratory diseases were below historical minimums throughout July.
This all makes sense given most decreased travel, holidaying and millions stopped working. This is not the paradox.
Queensland voted Labor's Annastacia Palaszczuk back as their premier on the weekend making her the first woman to win three elections in Australian political history.
This would seem to indicate Queenslanders were grateful for her tough border and other pandemic-related decisions.
This happened after Palaszczuk mid-campaign changed her mind on euthanasia stating that, if re-elected, she would fast-track the legalisation of voluntary assisted dying.
This comes a month after New Zealand voted by referendum to become only the seventh country in the world to legalise euthanasia, and not long after enduring some of the strictest lockdown laws in the world.
So, herein lies the paradox. In both Australia and New Zealand the vast majority of deaths from COVID-19 were almost entirely among the elderly.
Who stands to lose the most when euthanasia is legalised? The elderly. The decision and pressure is on them now not to be a burden; the biggest decision of their lives, and at the worst time.
Renowned Canadian clinical psychologist Dr Jordan Peterson teaches that life can be meaningful enough to endure its suffering.
Euthanasia teaches the opposite. Euthanasia teaches young and impressionable minds that there are lives that do not matter as much as their pain.
The arguments for euthanasia in 2020 are weak.
Through advances in palliative care, never in history has humanity been able to die in less pain than today.
The oft-expressed justification for euthanasia is the slogan "die with dignity" yet this is a misnomer.
It is not easy to die, even for a good person, but there is nothing undignified about death.
The late Steve Jobs said "death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent".
Death is a big deal. It is far and away the most influential and life-changing event in every person's life.
I have a couple of "friends" - closer to enemies really, if we were to align their behaviour with the definition found in any reputable dictionary - who blow all their money until they have only enough left to make a reverse charge call to me, asking for financial assistance, as if I had the spending capabilities of either a euphoric newly elected socialist government, or the Sultan of Brunei.
I try to convince these guys how wasteful they are with their money. Then I wire them the cash anyway, proving how wasteful I am with mine.
I am not rich and I know they're just going to waste it!
Sometimes I even get upset with them and say "you're probably going to waste all this money on junk food and alcohol!". Then I start feeling guilty, because I realise that's probably what I was going to waste it on too.
I often muse on how easily we blow all our money on rubbish until we get down to our last few dollars.
We hang onto the last few because we know they're our last.
What if we could be as careful with all our dollars as we are with our last?
If we knew that 2020 was the very last year of our life, how priceless would we treat it?
Twitter: @frbrendanelee