A final Word on the Terri Schiavo Case.

A final word on The Terri Schiavo case.

Another day… and more hearings on the Schiavo case in Florida. All the while Ms. Schiavo is in the process of leaving this world for a better one.

My concern remains that the State and Federal Governments have over stepped their constitutional authority in the Schiavo case and it will have resounding effects upon society in the US for many years to come.

I feel for the family of Ms. Schiavo… both sides, her husband and her parents. The pain is near unbearable for them. Their lives will always bear the scars of this tragic event.

Those of us who have borne the pain of making that decision, and doing it in accordance with the terms of a previous directive, or “living will”, know it is a most painful thing we are compelled to do to abide by the wishes of our loved one. Even with the knowledge that we are complying with those wishes, it still hurts deeply, profoundly, and in our own minds we will question, to one degree or another, our actions, for the remainder of our lives. We learn to deal with it in our own respective ways and get on with our lives. But when a case, such as the Schiavo case, comes up, it all comes crashing back. All the pain, all the anguish, all the doubt, comes crashing back upon us. The memories are bitter, and indelibly etched into our minds forever.

Forgive me if I lean a little heavily on the governments of the State of Florida and the United States. I can only believe this case would have been handled with more dignity, more consideration for the emotions of the family had the Government stayed out of it and the press kept their “newshounds” on a shorter leash. The cable networks were saturated, ‘round the clock with stories of the parents, and stories of the husband and, of course, the ever present politician pontificating as to why THEY must save the life of this poor woman.

In my not so humble opinion, all the pontificating and all the blustering simply made the situation even worse than it was. For that reason, if for no other, they should have backed off. But they did not… and we are reaping a harvest of pain for all those intimately involved with Ms. Schiavo. It did not have to be this way.

One final thing: I’m am firmly fixed in the right wing of my political party and I do not support the efforts of the US Government nor the Florida State government in this matter. As a “right winger” my primary concern, from the "get go", was the unwarranted government intervention…especially by the Federal Government. Further, I will not forget their antics.

I would ask them, as well as the MSM to please back off now, and allow this family to share this lady’s last hours with the dignity and respect she, and they, so richly deserve.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Schiavo, and her family, in these trying hours.

May the open arms of God envelope her in his pain free embrace and spread his comforting wings over those near, and dear, to her on their journey down the path we will all ultimately take through that well known “Valley of the Shadow of Death”.

Respectfully,

“Longstreet”