A friend of mine called me earlier this week to help him move a pool table to his basement. You get this kind of call a lot when you’re a stay at home Dad. People know you’re usually around.
So I went over with the kids after school and they played upstairs with my friend’s kids and I helped move the table. My buddy had also invited a neighbor of his over to help. I’d met him but I didn’t really know him. The two of them started talking politics and it became clear he was a big liberal atheist type. He actually seemed like a nice guy who delighted in mocking his Christian conservative friend.
I pretty much stayed out of it. I was pretty proud of myself acting like a grownup. He called my buddy a member of the “Terry Schiavo right.”
My buddy answered, “You’re darn right I am. And proud of it.”
After a few barbs back and forth about Schiavo the atheist guy said “What is it you don’t understand about brain dead?”
My buddy actually put the pool table down on the stairs and offered to show the famous video of Schiavo’s eyes following the balloon but the atheist guy declined. My buddy looked at me for support but I shrugged my shoulders. I was still acting like an adult.
After we got the table downstairs they sat down on the couch. I went upstairs to check on the kids. They were fine. (I think they were just happy not to be doing homework.)
When I came back down somehow the question of near death experiences came up and the atheist dude disregarded the very idea of nde’s. He explained it all away by saying that sometimes when people die their brain still continues for a while but it’s not really measurable by science and nde’s are simply dreams or hallucinations.
Now I’d been a good adult for almost a half an hour but I couldn’t let this go by.
I asked the atheist dude, “Just ten minutes ago you said ‘what is it you don’t understand about brain dead’ concerning Terry Schiavo yet now you’re saying that unmeasurable brain waves explain nde’s. So now brain dead doesn’t mean brain dead anymore?”
My buddy leaped off the couch started pointing at his face and doing a touchdown dance in front of him. I didn’t because I was still Mr. Adult. The guy was clearly embarrassed but went on the attack saying, “Oh you brought another right wing nutjob. Thank God I’m here to add balance. You Fox News guys believe in fair and balanced right?”
He, of course, never answered the question. I can only hope that it’ll stick in his head a little.
We played a race car video game for about twenty minutes. I made sure to knock his car off the road. Twice.
What?! I can’t be an adult for a whole hour.
May 20, 2010 at 5:33 am
"…I made sure to knock his car off the road. Twice."
I admire your restraint.
May 20, 2010 at 12:56 pm
You crack me up. Thanks for the humorous teaching moment.
May 20, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Excellent.
May 20, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Personally, I believe in fair and balanced… and answering questions. He didn't answer yours. It's also funny he thanked a God he thinks isn't there.
Impressive. Most impressive. /vadervoice
May 22, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Here's a link that explains the condition of Schiavo's brain:
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2005/03/20/regarding-the-cat-scan-of-terri-schiavos-brain/
May 22, 2010 at 4:28 pm
He was just taking a page from the current Administration: You can't win a lib-fight on substance so always attack personalities, marginalize, demonize persons instead. In my family, at work & in social situations such as this, I've begun naming that behavior by simply calling it what it is. I say, "You didn't answer my statement about brain death. You attacked me as a person." & leave it at that.
Its amazing the effect that statement of fact has on the persons involved in the conversation.
May 24, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Did you hear about recent studies done on comatose patients here in the US and Europe? The Acton Institute may have something on it. I heard about it on World Over news about a month ago. Fr. Tad Pacholczyk, Ph.D., was talking about how comatose patients, when told to think about a specific activity, exhibited the same brain activity as someone not in a coma. Then when told to answer questions based on yes/no answers using those certain thoughts, they answered them correctly!
http://ezinearticles.com/?Brain-Activity-Detected-in-Comatose-Patients&id=3768967