This past week we’ve been informed of the suicides of a fashion designer and a renowned celebrity chef. As reported in the news, Ms. Kate Spade and Mr. Anthony Bourdain took their lives - apparently hanging themselves. This same week we are told Mr. Charles Krauthammer has decided to end his fight against an aggressive cancer and let it take his life. The public outpourings that come with the news of celebrity deaths always give me reason to reflect and I would like to share those thoughts for a few paragraphs.
In the cases of suicide there is, of course, the tributes to a life well lived, and the distress over the individual’s decision to end that life before reaching so natural end. We see public service announcements about suicide prevention helplines, discussion on how depression is a hidden illness and how there is always hope and we should reach out to check on people to make sure they aren’t about to kill themselves. These are all admirable things, but when do we ask ourselves the tough question of why suicide is becoming such an epidemic choice in America. According to the Foundation for Suicide Prevention[1], it is currently the 10th largest cause of death in America and the NY Times[2] reports rates have reached a 30-year high. The data suggests close to 45,000 people will take their life this year. To put that into perspective school violence from guns will account for maybe a hundred deaths each year in school shootings.
Don’t get me wrong, one death is too many in school violence, but the focus of the media seems to be proportionately misplaced as they become outraged over this but say little about the choices that affect 225% more lives. Casting the media frenzy aside what is it about our society that has caused the suicide rates to go up as they have?
I believe suicide has always been part of the human condition. The Eastern faiths and societies view the act as one of courage. For example, it is well known that traditional Japanese society specific forms of suicide were/are vital if one was to maintain their honor. For years those who touted the quality of Japanese educational standards would gloss over the fact suicide was a leading cause of death for teens[3]. Was poor performance in school the causal factor?
In the middle east and the western world, we see Muslims far too often choose to use their suicides as weapons to kill and maim those who they’ve been taught to hate, with the promise of a greater reward in heaven. We vilify these acts, but does that have an impact on the next individual or group who seeks to inflict harm through the process of self-sacrifice? I suspect not.
Western culture has attempted to reduce the allure of suicide through the church teachings. Church leaders tell the faithful it is a sin, or that it will have long-term repercussions for their souls. But then there are more extreme faiths (or cults) that have actually encouraged the taking of your own life to reach a higher reward. It seems to me the moral restraint against the taking of your life is quickly losing its hold on our Judeo-Christian society, but why?
I think there are a number of reasons. Some may have to do with a loss of the influence of faith, but most of it has to do with the changes we’ve brought forward that gradually erodes the restraint we previously held. Within my lifetime we have become a culture where self-inflicted death is a practical choice for anyone who chooses it. We’ve made the taking of unborn life a right that is fought for and defended by those who believe women (and occasionally men) should be unencumbered by their sexual choices.
We are now beginning to make a choice patient-doctor termination is a preferred option for those who are diagnosed with terminal illness. Currently, there are seven states with statutes allowing physician-assisted suicide, they are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington[4]. Finally, with a few celebrity exceptions, we rarely report on the daily toll of people who’ve found death a preferred option to the life ahead of them. I imagine that number will only increase as the moral view of suicide in our country continues to evolve.
There are those who cite an increase in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, (PTSD) but haven’t those conditions always existed? The only thing that has changed is we now have names approved by the National Institute of Mental Health. There are statements by many (perhaps expert/perhaps not) that the younger generations are more “fragile” than the older generations. Personally, I don’t hold this to be true. What we have are medical experts that believe they can correctly diagnose the mental states of individuals with the expectation they can make those individuals different, either through medication or therapy. So now it is far more prevalent to suggest someone who deviates from the norm has an abnormal condition and should seek medical help, but what is normal in a society that is evolving to encourage people that death is okay?
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