Oh, boy, not this again. First it was sharks, then weapons of mass destruction, then flu shortages, then Scott Peterson. Now Terry Schiavo.
If the pattern isn't apparent, all these are the major stories the media has blitzed over the past few years. However, another pattern may not be as visible.
Though a lot of time, coverage and effort are put into them, what has the nation as a whole learned from these national stories?
Sharks are scarier than Ashley Simpson's singing; the CIA isn't so intelligent; there isn't a huge flu epidemic; and Scott Peterson is an evil man. There's nothing new, really. The media is wasting not only my time, but also the time of the FOX News staff members who are playing reporter. However, in Schiavo's case, many across America have learned a lesson -- and it's not that Supreme Court cases bring out wacko protesters.
Though she's in no condition to confirm it, Schiavo's parents still say she has the will to live. Although that can't be clarified because of the obvious state she is in, another will might have kept her out of the circus she inadvertently got herself into.
Wills have usually been seen as something that only old, rich men use to keep their money and assets away from Anna Nicole Smith, when in reality, everyone and everyone's brother should write one.
Though most students don't have the assets (cars, houses, money, etc.) that would warrant a will, that doesn't negate the importance of having one. Wills still make a big difference for numerous other reasons, such as burial plans, afterlife wishes and, in my case, custody.
It was July 27, 1998, and our family of four was doing great. No problems at all, especially on the health end of things. No one was dying of cancer or anything of that nature, so a will became an afterthought: something that would be put together when my mom and dad grew older. Unfortunately for my dad, he didn't get the chance to grow older.
Just like that, my dad suffered a massive heart attack and left this world. In the span of a day, I lost a dad and gained a worried mother. Once it struck my mom that someone can pass away as abruptly as her husband did, she began to question her own time on Earth. If my dad could be here one minute and not the next, could the same happen to her?
The main concern she had was not where the house went or who got the Honda Accord, it was where my sister and I went if she happened to pass away. At the time, I was 13 and my sister was 17, so we couldn't just live "wherever" since we weren't legally adults. The law would have put us in the custody of certain family members my mom thought weren't fit to take care of us, so she thought a will would be the best way to deter that from happening.
Luckily, she is still with us, but had she passed away when we were underage, the will would have spared us from a huge Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey government and media event.
The unfortunate truth is that anyone can go at any time, so it's important to make decisions now and plan ahead, rather than let someone else make those decisions for you. Besides, I wouldn't want my ramen noodles and beer falling into the wrong hands.
Would you?
Write to Ryan at
rjsmith@bsu.edu
Visit
www.bsu.edu/web/rjsmith
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