Killing Machines II

Trey Smith

Last night, in Killing Machines I, I talked briefly about opponents of abortion and the right-to-die movement (also folks who oppose contraception, though this deals more with choosing who gets to be conceived or not) who charge that supporters want to "play God" by deciding life and death issues. This authority, they contend, solely belongs to God, not human beings.

And yet, many of these same people support capital punishment! When the state sentences someone to death, how is this not "playing God?" The state is choosing who lives and who dies!

It might be one thing if every murderer, rapist or pedophile was put to death, but we all know this is not true. While I submit this would still constitute "playing God," at least we would play the role consistently! But the application of the death penalty is very inconsistently applied.

Take, for example, two American serial killers: Aileen Wuornos and Gary Ridgway. Wuornos (whose life was put to film in the movie, Monster) was sentenced to death for the murders of 7 men. She was executed on October 9, 2002.

Ridgway, on the other hand, is a lifelong resident of a prison here in Washington state. His number of victims puts Wuornos to shame! He's been convicted (thus far) of 49 murders, has confessed to more than 70 murders and authorities believe the real number is far higher still. So, even though Ridgway is responsible for the deaths of at least 10 times the number of those who died at the hands of Wuornos, he lives and she was executed.

Another example of humans playing the role of God is via warfare. When one nation or group attacks another, you can rest assured that numerous civilians will be killed. Every decision of which target to attack means that some people will get to keep on living and others will soon be dead.

And then there are the numerous policies of government and corporate leaders. Many of these policies target particular communities which result in extreme poverty, malnutrition and overall poor health. In a manner of speaking, those people in areas that have been targeted by the policy or legislation have been handed a death sentence -- many will die terrible deaths far earlier than they might have otherwise. (Think of young children in impoverished third world countries who die of malnutrition before reaching the age 5!)

You see, we humans "play God" all the time. Everyday, through our actions, we kill. Sometimes we kill in order to survive. Sometimes we kill out of annoyance or inconvenience. Sometimes we kill other life forms simply because we're humans and they aren't. Sometimes we kill to mete out punishment. And sometimes we kill because we want something someone else has.

In some respects, humans aren't all that different from any other species or beings. All life forms kill (or cause to die) other life forms. It is how each life form survives.

In essence, we all "play God" as a routine part of our existence.