Sunday, October 28, 2012

Immortality: Essential or Unnecessary?

As time has progressed, humans have made significant improvements in having a longer lifespan. Every day, scientists are one step closer to curing cancer: the major cause of death today. Although this seems amazing for every person to live a 100 years and even more, wouldn't this actually have terrible consequences for human beings? 
Think about it. If everyone lived forever the Earth's population would rise and would probably cause chaos for areas that already have population problems. Gas prices could rise, food shortages, and unemployment would disrupt human society. So would accepting death as a natural process be better than trying to get around it?
In William Cullen Bryant's Thanatopsis, he offers a peaceful view of death, comfort for the living, and no matter what a person's religious beliefs, the poem is still applicable. Thanatopsis views death as part of the return to nature, like death is just another phase of life itself. Thanatopsis also tells the reader that he/she will not go to death alone. Everyone who has ever died will already be there. Everyone who hasn't gone yet will be there eventually. Social class or age does not matter; we all share one thing, and that one thing is death. 
All in all Bryant's poem is moving to human society who wants to get around death. People should accept death and think of it as a positive way. When a generation dies off, a new generation will take its place and continue the great progress of human society. 

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