More Proof Conservatives Want to Run Your Life (and Death)

I am not a fan of suicide. Given that I think a) life in generally is pretty cool (pain in the ass appeals notwithstanding) and b) once you're dead it's over, I generally think it's not a good idea to shuffle off the Earth prematurely. But, I also firmly believe that I have no right to foist that opinion onto anyone else. Right wingers, the supposed conservatives, appear to feel quite differently. Witness Mike Medved's screed in USA Today basically calling Hunter S. Thompson a pussy for taking his own life. Medved seems intent on convincing Thompson's family, who seem to be rather at peace with entire event, that they should be more upset about it. What right does anybody, must less a movie critic turned social pundit, have to tell the family of a dead person how they should feel about his means of snuffing it? For the love of your God, is this what you've stooped to?

The fact is, suicide is the ultimate means of self control. It's the only function that, if done correctly, leaves the person who did it completely beyond any consequence. And since nobody can be inside Thompson's head (or anyone else's), they have no right to criticize his decision. Let people live their own lives and deaths as they see fit. We'll all get along better that way.