Friday, March 28, 2008

[The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind] Absolutely Disgusting.

How is this not being treated as a homicide?
Parents prayed with ministry founder
He called family night before diabetic girl died

By BILL GLAUBER

bglauber@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 27, 2008

On the night before 11-year-old Madeline Kara Neumann died of complications from untreated diabetes, her parents did not call a doctor.

Instead, Dale and Leilani Neumann prayed over the telephone Saturday with the founder of a religious Web site named AmericasLastDays.com.
(full story)
(Further Details)
Prayer's been proven, time and time and time again to be completely ineffective. Yet, for some reason, in times of crisis such as this, people still appeal to this barbaric ritual.

I just don't get it.

Did these people pray for Madeline's well being, or were they simply trying to find their own peace of mind as their daughter lay dying from something which is entirely treatable?

A lot of things piss me off, but I don't think anything infuriates me more than these displays of willful ignorance and stupidity, and unlike most of society, I see no reason why these people should be allowed to get away with this crime simply because they sought to invoke whatever sky-fairy around which their religion is built.

Don't get me wrong, I big fan of religious freedom. I think people should have the right to believe as they wish no matter how archaic and barbaric it is. So long as innocent people are not killed as a result of their beliefs, it's all fine and dandy. And, if this young girl was eighteen and not a minor, and if she made this decision on her own, I'm fine with that.

But, she was eleven-years old. She was dependent upon her parents. And, in the end, her well being was ignored, and she was senselessly and needlessly killed by them.

The sad thing is, these people should be jailed. I know if I had children and allowed them to die as a result of this level of neglect, I'd be locked up. But, the Neumanns won't be. They will be allowed to hang onto, and potentially kill their other kids all because someone somewhere thinks that religious beliefs such as these are admirable and good.

I'm glad my parents placed their faith in medical science, as opposed to some superstitious delusion, when I was a child. I'd have never survived.


-DP

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Posted By Dan to The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind at 3/28/2008 08:16:00 AM

2 comments:

  1. It is digusting! No matter the religion, I do believe whatever diety you believe in would expect you to use the tools available to you and try your utmost best -before you resort to calling on them. After all it's a huge world with so many in need. You don't want to take a chance and be put on hold when it's critical. I know it sounds ugly of me. I do believe in the Native American version of Creator, even then it's a belief he doesn't perform miracles rather provides you with what you need to deal with the present circumstances. What a shameful waste of this little girls life. (Hugs) Indigo

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  2. ... let me play Dan Akroyd to the other comments Jane Curtin ..!(y'all bettter laugh ..!)

    ... as a black man, let me first say that there ARE VERY GOOD REASON to be skeptical of the medical community ... PERIOD ...

    ... second, you start trampling on freedoms, where do you stop ... you mean the patriot act hasn't shaken you out of that kind of thinking already ..?

    ...finally, as inhumane as it may seem, it wasn't wrong ... you don't understand it ... neither do I ... but the people who were involved made their decisions based on what they believed ... if there is no abuse in the matter, then what can be said ..?  And if there is, where was the State then?  Were they then ..?  It would seem that the Wisc. laws won't allow for prosecution ...

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