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| How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life. |
Maturing and becoming an author with aspirations towards it
being a full time gig has really changed
out how interact with folks online,
especially social media. It used to be
that I was always up for a good debate. But
not everyone understand that a debate is vastly different from yelling, “You’re
wrong! You’re wrong! You’re wrong!” As a consequence, I’ve grown more circumspect
in how I approach topics of strong emotion.
But not always. Not
every day.
Today, for example, a buddy of mine posted up a comment equating
freedom of choice to his decision not to wear a helmet when he bikes. His bike doesn't have an engine, and neither
does mine, but I still wear a helmet every time I go out. I don’t even know if it’s the law around
here, but my perspective on this particular choice doesn't take that into
account.
Now, I don't fault my friend his choice. Not at all. I disagree with him (and he with me) on a lot of issues, but I have a great deal of respect for the man. But it occurred to me that wearing a helmet isn't a
personal choice at all.
Let me offer a bit of perspective here on how I arrived at
this conclusion. Way back in 1997, I was
diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a nasty version of IBS that causes the intestinal
tract to inflame and potentially cause partial or full restriction. The result of this is, at the outset,
incredibly painful cramps, and can, if untreated, lead to a rupture. That is, as they say in the medical field, like
being nuked from orbit. There is no cure
for Crohn’s and most patients end up in the hospital at one point or another,
some of us get to have surgery—bowel retraction. That’s a fancy way of saying they cut out a
chunk or your intestine. In my case, I
lost a foot or large and a foot of small intestine and I now get to live in a
state of constant, but generally low-level, pain. It also means I’m on medication and under the
care of a couple of doctors for the rest of my life.
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| Melt your face off—WITH PAIN! |
I could, of course, say “Eff off, bro!” and not take my meds
(which can have some fun side-effects) and not go to my medical appointments,
and not be probed liked a cow on an alien mother ship once a year.
What does that have to do with bike helmets? The same logic applies.
Unless you're a hermit that lives in a cave, if you go down
and are injured or killed because you weren’t wearing a helmet that impacts
every person around you. Worse, if you're in a vegetative state don't you leave
your friends and family in a medical limbo of horrible choices—maintain your
body on life support indefinitely to increasing medical costs, or make the
hard, hard, hard decision to terminate your life? Thankfully, in my
40-mphlmrphl years, I haven't ever had to make that kind of decision. But I
assume, for those who have that kind of choice has a deep, resounding and
guilt-ridden repercussions, yes? You and yours may forever question whether or
not they made the right decision.
It would seem like your choice to wear a helmet and my
choice to follow my doctor’s recommendations are personal choices. Your head and my gut are owned by no one
else. On the face of it, that’s
true. Your body, your rules. Unless you’re a woman who wants to take
control of her own reproductive system in the United Sates . . . but I digress.
Me, personally, I have family and (supposedly) friends. I have a wife and three beautiful little
boys.
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| If you bleed, you should wear a helmet! |
What about you? Do
you still think it’s a groovy expression of independence and “stickin’ it to
the Man”? Do you really feel that not
doing the very least in safety is somehow making you a stronger, better, and
more righteous dude?
It seems wholly irresponsible, not to mention
fashion-backwards, to make this about "personal choice" when the
impact goes way beyond the individual.
Also, there's this helmet you could be wearing!
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