Minister Shanmugam commented on Sgp activists asking Dr M to intervene in Sgp politics. Not sure it was so clearly the case though the activists tried to spin it that way. Dr M was asked to speak, if he had time, on democracy in Asean. Sgp IS a democracy though it is dominated by one party. Let's b very clear abt this. Let's c what's next here...
"Commentary: Disease, isolation and neglect, the aged lives of quiet desperation you don't see
Is living past the age of 80 a success or fail? One observer discusses the darker side of ageing.
LONDON: While the ageing of society has become one of the givens in today’s world, less is made of the lived experience of the very elderly in society.
And although there is some suggestion that the much trumpeted steady expansion of the human lifespan has begun to slow down, the numbers of very old people continue to grow.
Despite this, debates about the resourcing of universal health and social care tend not to examine the costs associated with extreme ageing. Yet the problem of chronic conditions and multiple morbidity is greatest among octogenarians and nonagenarians.
Very old age, if commented upon, is presented as if it were a kind of extreme sports competition.
Centenarians are celebrated simply for reaching 100. Nonagenarians hit the news when they run a mile, climb a mountain or pilot a plane. Otherwise, silence reigns.
Yet the focus of most social care is on people aged 80 and over – a group for whom care is needed because health cures have failed them.
Aged lives of quiet desperation are sadly not rare, nor are most lived in the heroic terms of the marathon-running nonagenarian that hits the news."
Grim reading really. The old n healthy seems to b the exception rather than the rule.
So what is meaningful living? Is euthanasia a solution if the "patient" consciously n lucidly request for it fully certified as of sound n clear mind n without any undue influence fr anyone?
I guess it will be "different stroke for different folks" for the patient m his/her loved ones!!
For me the choice is very clear: if i m immobile n dependant on others for daily living, better to go then to be alive but NOT LIVING life!!
Of course, for the scientists or artists who can do their work as long as their brains r still functioning, fine n well.
Just not for me!
Blessed all aged folks who r still relatively healthy n happy.
"Commentary: Disease, isolation and neglect, the aged lives of quiet desperation you don't see
Is living past the age of 80 a success or fail? One observer discusses the darker side of ageing.
LONDON: While the ageing of society has become one of the givens in today’s world, less is made of the lived experience of the very elderly in society.
And although there is some suggestion that the much trumpeted steady expansion of the human lifespan has begun to slow down, the numbers of very old people continue to grow.
Despite this, debates about the resourcing of universal health and social care tend not to examine the costs associated with extreme ageing. Yet the problem of chronic conditions and multiple morbidity is greatest among octogenarians and nonagenarians.
Very old age, if commented upon, is presented as if it were a kind of extreme sports competition.
Centenarians are celebrated simply for reaching 100. Nonagenarians hit the news when they run a mile, climb a mountain or pilot a plane. Otherwise, silence reigns.
Yet the focus of most social care is on people aged 80 and over – a group for whom care is needed because health cures have failed them.
Aged lives of quiet desperation are sadly not rare, nor are most lived in the heroic terms of the marathon-running nonagenarian that hits the news."
Grim reading really. The old n healthy seems to b the exception rather than the rule.
So what is meaningful living? Is euthanasia a solution if the "patient" consciously n lucidly request for it fully certified as of sound n clear mind n without any undue influence fr anyone?
I guess it will be "different stroke for different folks" for the patient m his/her loved ones!!
For me the choice is very clear: if i m immobile n dependant on others for daily living, better to go then to be alive but NOT LIVING life!!
Of course, for the scientists or artists who can do their work as long as their brains r still functioning, fine n well.
Just not for me!
Blessed all aged folks who r still relatively healthy n happy.
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