All life isn’t precious. Maybe a more accurate statement is that all lives aren’t equally precious. Don’t get mad at me. I came to that conclusion by watching you.
I’ll explain.
The argument is that we should all wear masks and social distance because we need to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But, the same rules weren’t put in place for preventing the flu, which causes between 24,000 and 64,000 deaths in the United States each year, many of which could be prevented by wearing masks. The conclusion: The life of someone who dies from COVID-19 is more precious than the life of someone who dies from the flu.
The Black Lives Matter movement was founded on the idea that black men are being killed by police at a higher rate than other races. That assertion isn’t true but, for this discussion, let’s pretend that it is. There were nine “unarmed” black men killed by police last year. However, there are thousands of black people killed by other black people each year, yet no one is burning cities to protest those deaths. Conclusion: Some black lives are more precious than others.
More than 10,000 people are killed by drunk drivers in the U.S. each year. That’s, on average, one person every 50 minutes. In addition, there are 80,000 more alcohol-related deaths (such as liver failure) in the U.S. every year. However, alcohol-related deaths are 100% preventable. The solution is to ban alcohol. Conclusion: The life of someone who dies from COVID-19 is more precious than the life of someone who gets killed by a drunk driver.
According to the CDC, “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.”
Every one of the nearly half a million of the U.S. deaths each year caused by cigarette smoking is 100% preventable. The solution is a complete ban on tobacco products. But there isn’t one. Conclusion: The life of someone who dies from COVID-19 is more precious than the life of someone who dies from smoking tobacco.
I happen to be pro-choice, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this as well. Each year, in the U.S. alone, more than half a million abortions are performed. That’s, on average, almost one every minute. If you believe that life is precious, then it seems that a good way to prevent 500,000 deaths would be to end abortion. Conclusion: The life of a fetus isn’t as precious as…well…anything.
With a few strokes of a pen, more than a million American lives could be saved each year.
Maybe, I shouldn’t say that some lives are more precious than others. Because “preciousness” is, after all, an emotional conclusion drawn by the observer. A more accurate statement would be that some lives are more valuable than others.
The life of someone who dies from the flu, or by a drunk driver, or by smoking, by abortion or homicide isn’t as valuable as the lives of others. Because unless your death can get someone elected, make someone billions or further a political agenda, then your life, to some people, has no value.
