Sunday 24 June 2012

rhetorical questions.

Lets just ponder some rhetorical questions today.If a tree falls in the forest with no one around does it make a sound?Does a bear poop in the woods?Well,the answer to the second question would seem to be yes.And from that it would seem to follow that the answer to the first question is yes as well.Unless the requirement for the making of sound is the presence of a human to hear it of course,and that's just way to anthropocentric for me.Can God make a stone so large that He can't move it?You get the picture.By rhetorical I mean a question that doesn't require an answer so much as it needs to be asked for it's own sake.

Now lets suppose you lived far from your own hometown.And lets suppose a tragedy befell your family.One of your family members was suddenly taken away.You travel to your hometown for the funeral,and,if necessary you would be prepared to stay and help with the family,though that would involve sacrifice.You see,the person taken away was the sole caregiver for their ailing partner who had been in poor health for a number of years.

But all seems to be well when you get home.A sibling has decided to take over the care giving duties and that sibling is a professional caregiver by trade.All is looking very well.You can return home with complete trust that your surviving parent is in good hands.You have a heart to heart discussion with your sibling about transparency and how you,as a family member expect it,and that sibling agrees that not only is it appropriate,but also in the best interests of caretakers in general.And so you set off to the airport thinking that this is going to turn out as well as can be expected.Only to be confronted at the front door by that angel of mercy,you sibling,who is now very angry with you over...what?Some seemingly insignificant thing.But the point is that it was done when you were on the way to the airport,bags in hand ,and of course,had no opportunity to answer back?Rhetorical question.Would this be called an ambush?Just wondering.But more to the point,would you now be justified in feeling somewhat more uneasy trusting the care of your parent to this sibling?Rhetorical question.Does there seem to be more going on here than meets the eye?

Rhetorical question.Should you have been able to see any of this coming?Well likely.There were small signs all along it seems.The baby monitor that was used to monitor your parent's care being placed right next to a window that would allow the whole neighborhood to listen in.My God,if your parent were going to the bathroom the neighbors could here the grunting.You made mention of this but were brushed off with"I don't have time to move it"to which you replied "it only takes a few seconds to move it."The answer you receive to that is"a few seconds could be used to get a cup of coffee."Rhetorical question.Aren't caregivers supposed to believe in and uphold human dignity?What does human dignity look and sound like?Grunting an the sipping of coffee?Or maybe that's just a stereotype you have about all caregivers.Never mind,but,rhetorically,where is your level of concern now compared to that time the angel of mercy was telling you about transparency?

Rhetorically speaking,life goes on despite your concerns,which are now not being answered on a daily basis.But I guess you should have expected this.In fact,a number of years pass,then your remaining parent passes from this world.Rhetorically speaking,don't you find it odd that you still cannot get any answers from your parents caregiver as to what was going on over the last few years?Of course you want to believe the best,after all who wants to believe that an angel of mercy has tarnished wings and a soiled robe,but,rhetorically speaking,isn't it just a bit naive to go on believing at this point,especially when the only real answers you've  been getting is to "go pound sand"or something to that effect,but with slightly more to offer in the way of expletives and hate charged invective.

One more rhetorical question.When confronted by a person who is extremely defensive,as you now are,don't you normally find that people become extremely defensive because there is something to be defensive about?

Remember,these are just rhetorical questions that don't require an answer and may or may not have any meaning in the real world.But even rhetorical questions serve a purpose.


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