Very sorry about your brother. Agree 100% he should have been provided the assistance that he wanted.

But with Carter and most religious people, they will not accept help because they think it will bar them from heaven. Anyway, I have the feeling that Carter is very close to passing. But your point is a good one, that we should all have control over our lives regardless of where we live.

@LovinLarge I sometimes wonder how Carter, in the end, really felt about his religion. These people say they won't accept any aid in dying because it upsets 'gods' law but they will accept any and all means to prolong their lives. This is the prime reason why DwD can't get passed in many states. I like to say these people 'say' they can't wait to meet Jesus, but not just yet. I wonder how many religious people only follow their path because of the fear of death.
I recently replied to another that what I feel is the driving momentum of the religious is like a murmuration. The members of such a group simply follow several bodies around them. There is little thought just action which seems to follow an instinct to protect the group.

@jackjr Indeed, all good points. I would add that I don't understand why they aren't happy when someone dies if they really believe that person is going to a better place. I have never been religious so none of their ridiculous beliefs make any sense to me and when they use them to interfere in other people's lives is when I lose it.

My mother once attended a "Bible study" to get someone off her back, and when she returned, she said they never even opened their bibles, all they did was gossip about people they all knew. I think you're right, most of them are just followers afraid to strike out on their own. You have some good insights.

@LovinLarge Thank you. I followed religion until my 40's. Everything was benign and never got into any discussions about religion. My dad was a convert and, aside from sending us to Catholic elementary school, we never had any proselytizing. I got into European History while living in Europe and visited places where history was made including Rome. My own house was destroyed by the French during the reformation so I did get an education on the horrors of religion. Perhaps this education planted some seeds for my final awareness later. It took a strongly atheist woman from Iran to drive the final nails. Now I'm constantly asking myself - what the hell was I thinking (or not thinking).

@Druvius JFK, Obama and Biden.

And that is why only those mad, power hungry assholes run for office.

@jackjr Republicans yes. I do not see Obama, Carter or FDR as mad, power hungry assholes. And some others.

@LovinLarge The one question I would ask concerns JFK. Even he was a great speaker and got everybody excited a lot of his actions failed. From several reputable publications (the Atlantic for one) he and his brother were really horrible people and would have brought a lot of problems to the country had they lived.

@jackjr I agree with you. I think JFK is completely overrated although my knowledge on point is limited but my father was politically active during that era and felt the same way. I'm not sure what accounts for his popularity, perhaps only "what might have been".

@LovinLarge Biden is criticized for his lack of speaking abilities both in quality and strength. Too many still listen to the messenger and ignore the message.

@jackjr Exactly. He's an old man, it's only natural that his speaking abilities are affected by age. It would be abnormal if they weren't. And to suggest that with all his foibles he was not infinitely more qualified than his competitor could only be a position taken by a moron. It is nothing short of painful to me how many morons we have in this country and that there doesn't seem to be anything we can do about it.

@LovinLarge Amazing how the enabling republicans can criticize Biden when their own boy was so inept at speaking. Not one word out of his orange hole bore any semblance of knowledge or even sanity.