Dignity

The other night I watched the movie The Sea Inside, which struggled with one mans desire to euthanize himself after a diving accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Of course the political and ethical questions that surround the practice of euthanasia play a central role in the film, but through watching the movie I found a more interesting question concerning the dignity of human kind.

The individual in the movie who wished to euthanize himself argued that his life no longer held dignity, despite the amazing and positive impact he had on the many around him who loved him. Seemingly he was accorded a great amount of dignity by those in contact with him, yet he held firm to his belief that a life that required other people to clean him, roll him over, or turn on the TV is not a life of dignity.

I live in a world surrounded by the seemingly undignified. Men beg for food, women live under trees with roofs made from garbage; children defecate on the open ground and haven’t bathed in months. When working with these people I try my best to treat them with the same kindness and respect that I would treat any human being. In a way, I try to offer them a bit of dignity in a situation that provides them very little. But in light of this movie I question if my actions can offer any real sense of dignity. The movie seems to argue the dignity is quite simply “in the eye of the beholder”. And in many ways I have seen this to be true. The humble farmer who holds his head high when talking with me, the IDP Sheik who demands a level of respect is offered to him where ever he goes, the women who laugh and chuckle at my poor attempts to speak Arabic. All of these people possess a simple dignity that radiates from their eyes, and it would be there regardless of my presences or actions.

I do not mean to put into question the value of how we treat other people, treating all things, the earth and animals included, with love, kindness, thankfulness and respect has merits apart from any thing else. Yet dignity cannot be assigned or forced upon someone. An individuals feeling of their self worth is defined by them, we only provide a small part of that understanding. I only bring this realization up to demonstrate my own insignificance here. I may provide many necessary and even life saving services, but the dignity and honor that dwell in the people here is far removed from my actions…and that is a wonderful thing.