jack k.

see note for reviewers.

to say that jack was simply a champion in the struggle for

individual autonomy &

one of the most important fighters in the battle

for freedom

in the latter half of the 20th century,

would

still

be

an

understatement.

 

jack was a man who saw human suffering for what it was,

something that could be dealt with

humanely

without pain

&

in complete preservation of an individual’s right

to determine on their own

without any outside voice deciding for them

when was the right time to

check out of this life.

 

while many of us understand these realities

jack felt it his life’s duty

to help those that may not even be able to help

themselves

in attaining

peace---

he was more merciful than any court on any

continent & of course,

they had no problem in

condemning him &

placing him in prison for a good

portion of his own life---

stifling his ability to help others

& doing their best to try and

silence

him.

 

many are aware of jack’s name when it is

associated with the wide concepts that we have of

death

many have heard of the suicide machine, as well

as the number of individuals that he helped

alleviate their suffering,

as opposed to how the fear mongering mainstream media

will portray such a

topic

but how many consider jack a doctor of

life?

how many understand that this man “saw this coming”---

in that famous interview with andy on

60 Minutes

he told the world that the suit he wore to the interview was

$15

and that he had saved money ahead of time

knowing that he would be

hung by those in america who still function as if this was the

dark ages

where “religious fanaticism and dogma

outshine

common sense”---

he believed that he would die in prison for what he was doing &

he poignantly pointed out several times that

heart transplants were once seen as

immoral

“because they were contrary to god’s will”

&

in the same breath he would state that

“five to six thousand people die every year waiting for organs,

but nobody cares.”

 

do you know what led him to such a

humanitarian

revelation as physician assisted suicide?

he stated in an interview with barbara walters in

92’

that it was through “working with inmates on death row

who wanted to donate their organs after they were

executed, but couldn’t---because it isn’t allowed”

noting that with the organs of one

executed inmate

“6 people could be saved.”

 

jack loved life

contrary to quick assumptions that were made about him

during his life

and as idiocy dictates, no doubt many of these same

assumptions

will last far beyond his death.

one wonders if these assumptions will roll around in

minds

as they are listening to

jack’s fingers sprinkle spontaneously

all over the organ keys

or

the free melodic styling of his

flute whistling throughout

The Kevorkian Suite: A Very Still Life,

the 1997 jazz album recorded by jack &

The Morphius Quintet

or if while they

stroll through an art gallery

gazing up at his

prolific & vastly colorful artwork

& understand that this was a man who understood what

living was,

enough to listen to people who no longer believed that they were

happily doing so

anymore?

 

when jack was diagnosed terminally ill

the good ol’ state pardoned him

and let him out of prison

on the grounds that

he would shut up and not speak about

what had been the reason

for his imprisonment in the first place.

 

and on friday, june 3^rd, 2011, at age 83,

after spending 8 years & 2 ½ months in

prison,

the man who helped so many to end their

suffering

was forbidden to help himself

and instead died quietly,

silenced by the state

(still the most powerful nation in the world)

who still refuses to give its own people

universal health care.

Author's Note

“When history looks back, it will prove what I'll die knowing.”

-Dr. Jacob “Jack” Kevorkian
b. May 26, 1928
d. June 3, 2011