The Value of Life Essay - 1133 Words

Should people put the value of life into monetary value or should life be kept solely as an emotional quantity? People and societies throughout the ages have been trying to answer the problem of putting the value of life into terms of dollar bills. The ancient Egyptians buried their dead with all of their worldly belongings. They believed a person’s monetary worth on Earth was over, and they should take all of that earthly worth with them to the afterlife. Modern day Americans are different from the Egyptians. Today people believe that the families of the dead should be compensated for â€Å"their† loss. It is true that life is a precious commodity much like a diamond. But unlike a diamond, life has no set monetary value. But today’s†¦show more content†¦Is it more important in society to â€Å"make babies† than it is to just live your life? What about people who haven’t yet had a chance to start a family because their lives were cut so short? Now all that money sounds like a blessing, doesn’t it? Well now that you have your foundation money, now you have to subtract the money you get from life insurance, pension, Social Security death benefits, and worker’s compensation. After these â€Å"little† subtractions, you now have the total that you are going to receive from the government’s fund. Now you are going to be hit with new questions after all this, for example is a rich man with high life insurance, high pension, and no children worth less than a poor man with no life insurance, no job, and ten children (Ripley 13)? The answer to all these questions is no. The lives of all people should be valued at the same price, if you are to set a price at all. A rich man should be the same as a poor man; a woman with no children should have the same life value as a woman with seven kids. The point is that if the government is going to put a monetary value of a human life, than it should be the same for everyone. â€Å"We hold these truths to self-evidence: that a ll men are created equal† (King Jr.). There are many arguments against putting a money value on human life and two of the most impressive come from Alephonsion Deng and Lance Armstrong. AlephonsionShow MoreRelatedThe Value of Life1206 Words   |  5 PagesThe Value of Life Human life is one of the few natural rights in life that cannot be valued by wealth, or taken in for exchange by any tangible object. Human life is precious and fragile and should be treated as such. Each person s individuality and capability is a prime factor that exemplifies the need humans have to be valued, all life is equivalent, but should be equal in the highest plausible factors. 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He makes his way to the taxi ward for a ride to the Sunshine cruise liner. It will be en route from San Francisco, California to Honolulu, Hawaii. It will pass through vast seas, emerald tropical islands, and reflect the beauty of the ocean life. For all this Christian will walk down its planksRead MoreThe True Value Of Life Essay964 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Worldly fame, power, and money are all great values in life; but the greatest value of all, in life, is love.† Christian muse’s to himself as he walks down the stairway of the San Francisco airpor t terminal. He makes his way to the taxi ward for a ride to the Sunshine cruise liner. It will be en route from San Francisco, California to Honolulu, Hawaii. It will pass through vast seas, emerald tropical islands, and reflect the beauty of the ocean life. For all this Christian will walk down its planksRead MoreDeath And The Value Of Life966 Words   |  4 Pageswas the last time I saw him. At the age of 5, I lost my grandfather to heart attack. Memories stretching as far back as I could remember, I was engulfed in a harsh reality of life and how easily it can slip away like sand in between distant fingers. This experience opened my eyes to the reality of death and the value of life. I come from humble beginnings. As a child, I grew up in an immigrant family. Merely observing my parents, I recognized that being determined while having a work ethic was the