In paradisum deducant te Angeli.

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

From "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions" (1623), XVII: Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris - "Now, this bell tolling softly for another, says to me: Thou must die.", John Donne.

An Australian man convicted of smuggling drugs will be put to death in the morning. And while he should be punished for his crime, he shouldn't need to die. Indeed, no being with a conciousness of self should be unwillingly deprived of his or her life.

Van Nguyen is not a hero, nor is he a martyr and he shouldn't be made out to be as such. Nonetheless, he is a human. We die a little, as a human species, whenever anyone loses his or her life, whether it be through accident, or malicious intent at the hands of an individual, or as sanctioned by the state. And to order death by law undermines the rationality of our apparent civilised society. This might sound a little whacked-out coming from an aspiritual, atheistic person such as myself, but I just don't think that any progress in the name of humanity could be achieved by killing another person.


Listening to:
Title: Requiem: In Paradisum
Artist: Fauré / Schola Cantorum of Oxford
Album/station: Faure: Requiem, Messe basse, Cantique de Jean Racine (1994)
Length: 3.28