Monday, December 22, 2008

Life: Quantity versus Quality

Every piece of advice that comes out of our Nanny State seems to focus on prolonging life at all costs without a second glance towards the real issue, the quality of people's lives. Admittedly, "quality of life" is a difficult parameter to measure, unlike "quantity of life" which is simply Date of Death minus Date of Birth. But surely to God we are not so facile as to believe that a long life automatically equals a high quality life.
When I read of the massive increase in Alzheimer's cases with our oldest citizens having to sit through fifteen years of absolutely nothing happening before their bodies finally pack in I am overcome with sadness. Far, far better to bid them farewell much earlier when they could appreciate the goodbye. Our memories of them would be far better for it.
So next time HM Government warns you off that bottle of beer and bag of chips (with extra salt) just remember, it is a lot better than staring at a wall all day and not knowing you are staring at a wall.
Quality or quantity? Quality every time.

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