WHAT IS THE VALUE OF LIFE (Pre-reading)

Matthew Berumen

10/17/13

Period: 0

What Is a Life Worth?

Pre-reading:

Surveying the Text:

1.)    It’s unfortunate that I’ve never read a thing from a Time Magazine.

2.)    Time is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. Time has the world’s largest circulation for a weekly news magazine, and has a readership of 25 million, 20 million of which are in the United Stated of America.

3.)    The articles in which are included in the Times Magazine vary. Some examples of the latest articles are:

·         Arrest in Los Angeles Airport Ice Explosions

·         Trial of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge Leaders Nears End

·         Thousands Protest in Flood-Hit Chinese City

4.)    Honestly the readership can be anyone. It can vary from someone bored one day and decides to read the magazine to my Government teacher Mr. Wagner, who does in fact read the Times Magazine. I asked my teacher why he reads the magazines and his response was that he doesn’t like to be ignorant on the things that are happening around the globe. He likes to stay informed.

Making Predictions and Asking Questions:

1.)    I predict that the article will take some time to recognize the loss and suffering of the families that were affected by the tragic event that took place on September the eleventh. The government has an idea of how many lives were lost that day and how much of an impact it had on the economy.

2.)    I think the articles relate with each other in the fact that they both try to make the reader recognize that all life has value. One of the examples given to us is the tragic day when terrorists invaded the US and crashed into both of the largest buildings of their times on September 11, 2001. One that day many people lost their lives or if they didn’t die they were severely injured. It was one of the saddest days in history. Imagine losing a loved one to such a tragedy. I wasn’t even alive at the time and I feel a lot of sympathy to the people who lost a loved one that day.

3.)    I don’t think the articles will continue in that vein. In fact, I think that it’ll merge off into explaining how all this sorrow could have been prevented. How the military could’ve translated the terrorists plans in English before they made a move. I honestly don’t understand how we were so clueless of the attack.

Understanding key Vocabulary:

1.)Compensate-(Verb) Give (someone) something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury incurred.

2.)Disparity-(Noun) A great difference.

3.)Valuation-(Noun) An estimation of something’s worth, especially one carried by a professional appraiser.

4.)Ligation-(Noun) The process of taking legal action.

5.)Commodify- (Verb) Turn into or treat.

6.)Discretion- (Noun) The quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid casuing offense or revealing private info.

7.)Liability- (Noun) The state of being responsible for something, especially at trust, will, or life insurance policy.

8.)Beneficiary- (Noun) A person ho derives advantage from something.

9.)Tort- (Noun) A wrongful act or an infringement of a right leading to civil legal liability.

10.)Allocation- (Noun) The action or process of allocating or distributing something.

Emotion-Laden words:

1.)Squeamish- (Adjective_ Easily made to feel sick, faint, or disgusted, especially by unpleasant images.

2.)Garish-(Adjective) Obtrusively bright and showy.

3.)Gall-(Noun) Bold, Impudent behavior.

4.)Callous-(Adjective) Showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.

5.)Inconsolable- (Adjective) Not able to be comforted or alleviated.

6.)Indigent- (Adjective) Feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.

7.)Balk-(Verb) Hesitate or be unwillingly to accepting an idea.

Descriptive Terms:

1.)    Rorschach test-(Noun) A procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability.

 READING

After reading the “What is a Live Worth” article, I can only imagine the suffering people went through during this time period and the types of issues that people had to go through. They range from gruesome deaths, painful emotions and/or to things just being unfair or having no justice. One example they use that show how things can be really unfair or having no justice, is of a man by the name of Joseph Hewins who was barreled over on a wintry evening in 1845. Hewins had spent his work day shoveling snow off of the tracks only to be killed by a train and leave behind a wife and three children, who were already poor before he died. Had the train merely cut off one of his legs, the railroad would have paid him but because he died, he took all of his legal claims with him. A little over a century later, is when the courts started to put a price on a life, after death. They can tell you that an average valuation, an injured knee can be about $200,000. Another example of major issues such as gruesome deaths and/ painful emotions is the 9/11 attack that every American knows and never want to experience again. There were many, many deaths and more injuries. Thanks to families now getting money for their relative’s deaths, they got something back but nothing they could get could replace the loved one they lost. Even with the $2 billion in charity money, all together it was just chump change compared with the cash that will flow out of the government coffers. Feinburg is a big public speaker and he explains why not even $250,000 is not enough for a life, he gives an example of a now fatherless nephew and says, “Have you ever seen a twelve-year-old boy have a nervous breakdown?”. He goes on to say how that nephew will never be as happy with the $250,000 compared to the happiness his father would give him and that painful emotion is spread throughout the family. The government now sees what you have done and the family circumstances to decide how much the family should get, but as I have said before, no amount of money will ever replace the life of a loved one. In this article, I see the word “life” not really describing the person’s body or soul but more so what they have done while they were alive and what they contributed to society.

 Thanks to my colleague, Carlos Serrano for posting the reading section: http://carlosserranoexpo.blogspot.com/