Human Life

The Value of Life The value of human life is still a mystery and we as a society is still trying to figure it out. During early times, life was not valued at all; people were being turned into slaves and treated like nothing. In today’s world many would base the value of life by our achievements, one’s past, or the salary one receives. This shouldn’t be the way we value one’s life. We as a society cannot assign a value on ones life. In today’s society, it can be said that we have taken the value of life to another level. The government gives money to families who have lost a loved one, but the amount of money given has been decided in various ways. The amount of money given to each family is based on who they were, how they died, and on their personal backgrounds. Wouldn’t you think it would only be right to give each family the same amount of money and help regardless of differences? It would make sense because the Declaration of Independence specifically states, “all men are created equal’. With that said, shouldn’t we have equal life values? In Amanda Ripley’s article, “What is a Life Worth” she asks the question, “Is a poor man’s life worth less than a rich man’s?” (Ripley, 13). There is no definitive answer to this question but our society has placed a dollar amount on every life. However, I think the value of a person’s life should be determined by how happy we are, and the experiences they have. Our society has its priorities in the wrong order. People today think that professional athletes, singers, and actors are “worth more” than people who have good hearts, who do not make as much money. If money cannot buy happiness then how do we, as a society, put very large price-tags on celebrities who live miserable lives and only pretend to be happy when there’s a camera pointed in their direction? Our government has set up a specific formula on how much money a life is worth when there is an accident and someone is killed. There are charts made up to determine how much money each family will receive. “The charts, while functional, are brutal, crystallizing how readily the legal system commodifies life” (Ripley. 58). In Amanda’s quote can also be an additional example on how society values us differently. These charts used by the government can also be known as, “The Human Life Calculator”. These calculators base how much each family and or person is worth. The amount is determined by age, gender, annual wages, spouse background, children. With that said, everybody's life is different, and therefore, of different value. Some people are successful and are motivated to live their lives to the fullest and to enrich the lives of those around them. Other people simply idle away their lives and do not care what comes of it. It is not society's job to "assign" a value to a human life because it comes down to each individual person. I would consider someone to be valuable if they changed your life significantly for the better. As the government uses charts to determine human value, Hamlet uses experiences, personal emotions and thinks about what others may go through as well. In Hamlet’s Soliloquy, Shakespeare strikes the reader with a fundamental human concern of the validity and worthiness of life. He talks about whether it is easier for us to simply enter a never-ending sleep also known as death, or find ourselves facing the daunting problems of life, or face the obstacles that life throws at us. Hamlet states, “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer….Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” (2-4). Hamlet expresses his fear of death when he claims that he fears, “the dread of something after death….” (Shakespeare. 23). Hamlet suggests that he has difficulty with suicide because it goes against his moral standings. Hamlets fear of death can connect to many people today. The fear of death can connect to the thought of what will happen to there family after their death. Will they be financially stable? Will they be able to survive with out them? Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” (1) connects to the choices many humans may ask them selves. It is there own personal choice to be something valuable, or not at all. When you think about death, or becoming something valuable Lance Armstrong should he someone to think of. In his book “It’s Not About The Bike : My Journey Back To Life”, he helps you understand it’s not about winning a bike race, or anything else you may be involved in that is important, but that it is a matter of winning at Life. Lance through his battle was not only worried for himself, but for his sponsors and people he would let down. In Lance’s determination to not succumb to the cancer or not continue his riding, he was able to overcome many obstacles. In Lance’s book he implied, “The truth is that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me” (Armstrong, 17). It may sound questionable to ask why he thought that but it could have been that it made his life “Worth More”. It can now be worth more knowing he overcame death. Everyone has their own endeavor. It depends on how they handle, how they overcome each situation and how they will face each circumstance that made their endeavor meaningful. If someone love’s life, and or cares about it, many would say there life is “Valuable. In society today many would have the choice to agree/disagree that a person can be worth more than another, simply because the statement located in the Declaration of Independence, “All men are created equal”. It is good to help families after death, but in the same ways. Along with not basing it differently because or who they are, class or reason of death, but because every human life is equally valuable.