Why Terri Schiavo had to die

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. Jan 22, 2006 — Michael Schiavo, whose brain-damaged wife was at the center of a contentious end-of-life battle that played out on a worldwide media stage, has remarried, family members said.

Schiavo married his longtime girlfriend Jodi Centonze on Saturday in a private church ceremony, said John Centonze, the brother of the bride.

To the church that married them: is it the letter or spirit of the law with which you are more concerned?

OK - who am I to weigh-in on such matters? Agreed. Will you allow me to at least opine in sophistry?

Thanks.

I don't suggest Michael Schiavo as anything other than a normal American - that is, self-interested and maximizing his current happiness. That's most of us; that's me most days. But every so often (typically once a week, after hearing one of Rev. Dan's fine sermons), I morph from the turd-of-all-turds I am most often into something slightly closer to what I can be. And on those days (at those moments within those days, to be honest), when I see things clearly - some would say eternally - I want Michael to put away his immediate happiness for other, greater things.

But typically I get selfish again quite easily, and soon follows an almost overwhelming desire to do what maximizes my current happiness.

This is what is called the path of least resistance. Incidentally, it is the path that lightning takes in completing its journey.

Back to Michael Shiavo.

Something that occurred to me altogether too late to have me make sense of this earlier is this most salient factoid:

Terri and Michael had no children.

Michael has two children with Jodi Centonze. Michael and Jodi have lived together in Clearwater, Florida for ten years.

Thus we know why Michael had to have the life of his wife terminated.

Really. Do you really wish to argue otherwise? I am game. Bring it on.