The Value of Life

Generation after generation of societies change as time goes on. Maybe not so much the society itself, but the people in it do. The value of life now differs depending on the different kinds of experiences people go through. We will all have different obstacles in our life, but the way we get through them and live to tell the tale is the way life should be valued for. In It’s not about the bike: My journey back to life, an autobiography by Lance Armstrong, he is a great inspiration to America for winning one of the most grueling sporting events on the face of the earth, the Tour de France. A 2,290 – mile race through the hills and mountains of France on a bicycle. Yet this is still not what puts value into life, through his eyes. Lance was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 25. As tough as it is to fight a cancer as severe as that, he says it was his profession that helped him fight it. His profession taught him how to fight and compete against all odds and obstacles. A near death experience is what made Lance ask himself, â€Å"If I live, who is it that I intend to be?† This is where I truly believe people start contemplating what the value of life is. Another example of an obstacle people sometimes go through in order to assign value to life is suicide. The world famous Shakespeare has a play precisely on the basis of this issue. In the soliloquy of Hamlet he is a man who doesn’t know whether to live or commit suicide, but carefully analyzing the aftermath of suicide and what comes after death is what makes the character have a change of heart. Again we see that what we go through in life, the obstacles we face and overcome is what we use to assign value to life. To further conclude this statement, the way society should assign value to life is the way we have been doing it for years, by basing it on the different experiences people go through and letting each individual have a say in what they think the value of life is. Everyone’s opinion is different, but that is the beauty of it. From all the differences it creates some of the greatest stories ever told. That is how value should be assigned. The Value of Life The Value of Life The value of human life is still a mystery and we as a society is still trying to figure it out. During early times, life was not valued at all. People were being turned into slaves and treated like nothing. In today’s world though, we base the value of life by our achievements, one’s past, or the salary one receives. This shouldn’t be the way we value one’s life. We as a society cannot assign a value on one’s life. Money cannot buy happiness.In the article â€Å"What Is a Life Worth† by Amanda Ripley, she argues that nowadays we base life on money. â€Å"The courts started to put a dollar value on a life-after death† (â€Å"What Life is Worth†, stanza 1). I do not agree with this because people expect money after a death occurs to a loved one. No amount of money can fill in the void of a loss someone is enduring. William Shakespeare, one of the most famous and influential writer, argues his point of view of hu man life in â€Å"Hamlet’s Soliloquy. Shakespeare uses a suicidal character, Hamlet, to show that the only time we value life is when something bad is happening. Also to show that life is full of misfortunes. Both Shakespeare and Ripley seem to be suggesting that life is only valued by death. Death opens our eyes and makes us cherish what we have. This sounds very sad, but it’s very true. The government doesn’t seem to care about human life. Cheri Sparacio, the widow of Thomas Sparacio, exclaims, â€Å"The government is not taking any responsibility for what it’s done.This was just one screw up after another. † The government tries to replace loss with money. How can one’s life value be bought? Nowadays, one way life is valued is by money. 6 On the other hand, Lance Armstrong believes that death is not an option. That the value of life should be cherished and taken for granted because your life can end any second. In the excerpt â€Å"Itâ €™s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life† by Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins, it talks about Lance