Yup -The End Of The World As We Know It - I used to prepare for that. I knew the probable sizes and types of SOVIET nukes were going to hit about where in my area of Southern NJ. I knew which buildings around my area afforded the best fallout protection, how many roentgen's of exposure would cause what level of radiation sickness. Read fiction like Wolf and Iron , Warday, Alas Babylon, The Last Ship, The Survivalist series, Deathlands, and a lot of non fiction stuff. In short I knew what may happen, what seemed at times was going to happen. I was prepared with knowledge (but not materials) and knew more than most adults around me about the policy of MAD(Mutually Assured Destruction). Thankfully it all passed with the fall of the only other seriously credible nuclear threat.
I recently figured out that I had no clue or made no serious preparations of the other more common type of TEOTWAWKI - slipping into a coma or other state where I wasn't going to come back, or most likely wasn't going to come back, the end of MY world.
I'm not religious in any way , not agnostic, a pure atheist. I have great faith in mankind (especially after surviving the 80's without a nuke hitting New Jersey). I also have a great will to live forever, if modern medicine ever figures that out. I like to be around, live in history. I also figured I'd at least be able to be aware of my surroundings. That I wouldn't need a small army of people or a host of machinery to keep me alive. Would that even be me. I don't think so.
The only exception I would draw would be if my brain wasn't severely damaged and brain activity could be detected akin to that of a dreamstate. I would like the possibility of simply waking up even if I was paralyzed or a living head in a jar. It's life, and I'm still participating. If my brain is dead then all you have there hooked up to tubes and such is a rotting potential for organ donation I used to use when I was living life. Use the good parts and cremate the rest.
I have to make a living will. No one I know would rationally think I would want them to break the bank keeping my husk alive. Unfortunately the only legal forms of euthanasia we use involve methods that will destroy any organs which could have otherwise been harvested for transplants. Such is the world we live.
I recently figured out that I had no clue or made no serious preparations of the other more common type of TEOTWAWKI - slipping into a coma or other state where I wasn't going to come back, or most likely wasn't going to come back, the end of MY world.
I'm not religious in any way , not agnostic, a pure atheist. I have great faith in mankind (especially after surviving the 80's without a nuke hitting New Jersey). I also have a great will to live forever, if modern medicine ever figures that out. I like to be around, live in history. I also figured I'd at least be able to be aware of my surroundings. That I wouldn't need a small army of people or a host of machinery to keep me alive. Would that even be me. I don't think so.
The only exception I would draw would be if my brain wasn't severely damaged and brain activity could be detected akin to that of a dreamstate. I would like the possibility of simply waking up even if I was paralyzed or a living head in a jar. It's life, and I'm still participating. If my brain is dead then all you have there hooked up to tubes and such is a rotting potential for organ donation I used to use when I was living life. Use the good parts and cremate the rest.
I have to make a living will. No one I know would rationally think I would want them to break the bank keeping my husk alive. Unfortunately the only legal forms of euthanasia we use involve methods that will destroy any organs which could have otherwise been harvested for transplants. Such is the world we live.
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