The lives and deaths of Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II drew
parallel last week to produce a cacophonous debate about everything
from the privacy of individuals to the nature of human
consciousness.
The wealth of media attention and, in the case of Schiavo, an
unprecedented act of Congress, raise serious questions about how
deeply the American consciousness values life.
Surrounding the overblown debate about Schiavo and the tributes
to John Paul’s lifelong devotion to life itself, it’s
easy to forget how narrow the American fascination with
“life” often becomes.
What makes Schiavo or even John Paul II more significant than
the thousands of other people who live and die every day?
On some level, the media glare surrounding the deaths of the
pope and Schiavo seems undignified and greedy: Was it ratings that
motivated the news networks to dig so deeply into these human
lives, or was there something meaningful the editors and anchors
saw amid the sensational details?
The answer to that question may be found in the tremendous
debate about the concept of life itself.
As pope, John Paul II devoted much of his energy to the defense
of life ““ at least as defined by the Catholic doctrine. For
decades he fought against those things which he believed to be
antithetical to life, including abortion, birth control, capital
punishment, war and poverty.
During his 26 years as pope, he became famous for being an
activist and a conservative at the same time. He traveled to more
countries than any pope before him, and his influence touched
everything from John Kerry’s presidential bid to the
opposition against the war in Iraq.
And even those who disagreed with his views cannot deny that he
had a tremendous impact on the world that extends beyond the
globe’s 1.1 billion Catholic believers.
In a completely different world, but grabbing as many headlines,
the spectacle surrounding Terri Schiavo has shown how easily it is
to focus on the importance of one life.
Schiavo’s death was about more than one woman. In an
almost unprecedented flurry of activity, judges, Congress, Gov. Jeb
Bush, and even President Bush tried to direct the course of
Schiavo’s most personal moments.
At the center of each of these efforts was his commitment to the
idea that every form of life is sacred ““ from the smallest
cell to a brain-damaged woman.
This week has shown how easily one life can be celebrated, and
reminds us all how quickly true horrors go unnoticed. When death
has many faces, it becomes much more difficult to rally around.
Life, the concept and the reality, should undoubtedly be
cherished, protected and remembered. Schiavo and John Paul remind
us all of that.
But at this moment, when life is so celebrated, we must remember
the millions who die without headlines, without legislation and,
often, without grief.