Sui Caedere

"...But everything I can't remember
As fucked up as it all may seem
The consequences that I've rendered
I've stretched myself beyond my means..." -- Staind

No, these lyrics in It's Been Awhile by Staind aren't about suicide... But they could, I think, make up a core feeling in a song about suicide. I mean, it's not like there aren't enough songs out there on the subject, but still...

Anyone ever thought about suicide? No, I don't mean, have you thought about offing yourself. Have you just ever simply stopped to think about suicide, what it is, and why it has a presence that transcends all cultures, religions, and philosophies?

If for nothing else, it is an interesting concept in that in all of the species known to the world, suicide is only practiced by humans. No other creature known will kill itself simply for the sake of having the desire to cease to exist. Let’s try that again… No other form of animal or insect known by man will act to kill itself simply for the sake of ending its existence. Why?

Isn’t man supposed to be at the very top of the food chain? Are we not the most intellectual species know to the planet? We use tools, we have created vast civilizations, we can adapt to live in any region on the planet, we can split the atom, and we’ve walked on the moon…. And yet… We are the only living things that will also terminate our own existence in the universe.

Some cultures reject suicide for legal reasons, or religious reasons, or for whatever reason. Some cultures consider it to be honorable. Some consider it acceptable when ‘X’ is the reason, but not because of ‘Y’ or ‘Z.’ Some could care less…

What do we think of people who commit suicide? That they are: selfish, stupid, enlightened, depressed, unbalance, evil, damned, saved, better off, worse off, brave, cowards, vindictive, hopeless….what else?

How do we feel about the person who wants to commit suicide to get back at his ex-wife for having to pay so much money in support?

How do we feel about the 95 year old in the nursing home in pain most of the waking hours, who can no longer see well enough to read or watch TV, or hear to listen to radio or music, and is confined to a wheelchair, but is to weak to move themselves around and wants to commit suicide?

How do we feel about the person who simply has had enough of life and living in this world and is tired of plodding through life day after day after day after...

Tired… Tired of thinking… Tired of feeling… Tired of the endless struggle… Tired of… Consequences...