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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1983)
Friday, October 28,1983/The Battalion/Page 11 ^Warped by Scott McCullar SOMEONE'S GOT A PIZZA GOING BUT FORGOT TO TURN' THE OVEN ON- Life’s meaning is not in age, historian says ong Island man held or mail death threats United Press International HOUSTON — Keeping elderly people alive as long as possible — despite their health conditions — may often do more harm than good, a cultural his- torian said Thursday. “The question is not how long can we all live, but how long can we live with meaning to our lives,” said Dr. Thomas R. Cole, an assistant professor at the In stitute for the Medical Humani ties at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. “But not many medical profes sionals appear to be discussing this dilemma seriously.” Cole said physicians and re searchers tend to undercut many religious and cultural tra ditions by insisting all older peo ple be kept alive at all costs. “I fear by the year 2000 this country will be faced with many more frail and dependent old, old people than we can econo mically cope with — and I’m greatly concerned that today not much thought is given to why we’re doing this,” Cole said dur ing a international symposium on aging sponsored by the Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences. He said the number of people over age 65 is expected to reach 20 percent of the American population within the next 25 years. Cole said medical scien tists should examine their efforts to extend the length of life through new machines and medications. He blamed some science fic tion stories for promoting the notion that people can live for extraordinarily long periods — perhaps even forever. “Remember that old Greek myth about the man who wished to the beautiful goddess that he could live forever?” Cole said. “Well, he forgot to also wish to remain young, so he gradually wasted away until he was no thing more than a voice. The goddess finally took pity on him and turned him into a gras shopper. “I think it’s critically impor tant for us to ask if we want to be a nation or a world of grasshop pers.” United Press International NEW YORK — The brother former Green Beret doctor livicled of murdering his pre- Sant wife and two children was fested on Long Island Thurs- on charges of sending a lilt In hOortlT™ doping, as silly as illmay sound, that the ■ letter might appear to bt humorous to Mr. Smith.” d perhap iheirpi ‘Befoi d dad ill threatening letter to the U.S. I attorney general. James MacDonald, 41, of Long Beach, Calif., said the Joe ■Ginniss bestseller, “Fatal Vi sion,” about the 1970 murder ■c against Dr. Jeffrey MacDo nald, was one of the things that prompted his Sept. 27 letter to Attorney General William French Smith. ■ U.S. District Court Magis trate John Caden ordered Mac Donald held on $100,000 bond pending further hearing. Mac- Dtjjnald was charged in Califor nia with using the mail to send a threat to the attorney general. ((■The letter, postmarked from Lipng Beach, Calif., made threatening statements to both Smith and his family. MacDonald told Caden he had been working as a cook on Long Island, although his address was listed as 39 Corin thian Walk, Long Beach, Calif. “I am hoping, as silly as it may sound, that the letter might appear to be humorous to Mr. Smith,” MacDonald said. He said he also wrote to Presi dent Reagan and had been wait ing for a response from Smith rather than an arrest. He won dered if Smith “misunderstood my intent.” MacDonald, who admitted submitting voluntarily to psychiatric treatment in 1979 and 1980, said the McGinniss book about his brother’s case, which concluded the doctor was guilty of the murders, had prompted the letter. “That was another thing that prompted me to write those let ters,” he said. In a sometimes rambling speech to the court, he also said he was concerned about his brother’s safety should he be let out of jail. Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald is serving three consecutive life terms at a federal prison in Texas. The McGinniss book on the case, currently on The New ing a history of mental prob- York Times best seller list, men- lems. tions James MacDonald as hav- MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE! If you’re planning a career in medicine you owe it to yourself to find out about the Air Force’s Health Professions Scholarship Pro gram. Qualified U.S. citizens can receive scholar ships for medical or osteopathic school. 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