In this thread (which I also started), a number of Dopers have declared that they would not choose to die to save a strange child; a few have even declared that they wouldn’t die to save their own. (I won’t name any names, as I don’t wish to attack anyone personally.)
The number of persons who answered that no one else’s life is worth their own surprised me. It also inspired another poll topic: is there anything you consider worth mroe than your own life? If so, what?
Answering my own question:
I like to think I’d die to protect my wife from rape* or murder. (Actually I’m fairly certain I would, as I’ve put myself in jeopardy of, at the very least, physical violence to protect women I don’t know; but because those choices surprised even me as I made them, I won’t pretend to guarantee that I’d have the guts to do it again.) Likewise my sisters, my nieces, my nephew, one of my brothers, and either of my two best friends.
I hope I’d have the courage to die to uphold the Constitution of the United States–which is to say, if I were in the service during a conflict, I would choose, intellectually, to put myself at risk for the sake of my unit. I also hope I’d choose to die rather than watch a strange child die violently, always assuming it were in my power to make a difference.
Lastly, though I wouldn’t die to anything I’ve written, I suspect I were in the Art Institute of Chicago and this painting were about to be destroyed in a fire, I’d succumb to the incredibly stupid impulse to try to save it.
I believe I was the first and one of the few that admitted they would not die for their child and do not care if it’s publically and widely known. If it were something I were ashamed of, I’d’ve not admitted it in the first place.
There are a lot if things that are worth more than my life. Most things, actually. That doesn’t mean I would willingly give it up for them, though, and I doubt there’s much I would do so for. I certainly can’t think of any off the top of my head.
I did not say that you attacked me, nor did I imply it. I just stated that I was one of the people you mentioned and saved anyone curious the trouble of clicking and searching.
There are fewer things now than 20 years ago, but a few new ones have made the list. I didn’t have children or a wife back then, and thought I would for my country. My family comes first, and I’d kill or die for them without qualms. Some obscure notion of freedom in a faraway land? Not so much now that I’m older.
Aside from family, there’s probably some other things but it’d be situational. The thought of leaving my kids fatherless would be foremost in my mind.
I am 34 and I feel my life becomes less valuable to me personally every year if not every day. If I was magically made to become a Secret Service agent, I would die to protect the POTUS no matter who he or she was. I would probably die to protect the original copy of the U.S. Constitution in the National Archives. I think I would be brave enough to sacrifice myself to 9/11 style terrorists to save the plane. A busload of kids would be a no brainer. I think the instinctual aversion wouldn’t be from the death itself but by the manner. It would be hard to rush into a raging fire just from a pain standpoint alone. Defending someone who was about to get shot and then getting shot myself may not be so bad.
As I have no children and know that my wife would be very well taken care of in the event of my departure from this place there are quite a few things I would give my life for. Sitting around and thinking about things I would make that sacrifice for, however, is not something that I believe that a man (or anyone) should be spending time doing. Doing so almost seems childish in a way, being a hero, saving the damsel in distress, etc. things that a young boy might do. I spend enough time screwing around on this message board. Although I must confess, it’s quite entertaining for the most part.
I completely baffled my young cousin when I told him that I would die to save historical knowledge. It’s true, though - if I had a choice between being killed and, say, having the remains of Ephesus destroyed, or a text like Sallust’s Jugurthine War, I’d pick me to go the way of the dodo.
Not really shocking, since I’m pretty much devoting my life to the preservation of historical knowledge anyway; no wonder I’d value my life worth it.
I once thought I’d rather die than be raped. When the situation arose, turns out I didn’t choose that option.
I’d probably face certain death to try to stop a mass murderer or terrorist in the immediate area. I’d risk it to protect my husband, assuming he wasn’t in a position to defend himself (as he’d be much better at that than I am).
It is hard to know what I would do in a dire situation. Certainly, I’m as prone to the silly impulses others are prone to; I might strike out across thin ice to save a child without thinking twice, but I don’t think that’s the OP’s real question.
If given time to consider and make a rational decision, I believe I would – reluctantly, regretfully and tearfully – trade my life for one of my sons’ lives; perhaps even my daughters-in-law, and almost certainly one of my grandchildren. My wife probably would not allow me to make that decision; I believe she would sacrifice herself almost recklessly rather than see someone she loves endangered.
The problem with a hypothetical question like this is that the reality would be less certain. Anyone who wanted me to trade my life for someone else’s actually wants me dead, and I would resent the hell out of having to accommodate them. Plus, I’d have no guarantee that the other victim would, in fact, be spared. Once I’m dead, the hatred that caused someone to put me in that position wouldn’t be abated, and there would almost certainly be more deaths.
I wouldn’t even hesitate to save my kids. Everything else would have to be situational. I know that I would risk my life for a much lesser threshold. Two of my biggest personal heroes are a guy named Lenny Skutnik and Arland Dean Williams Jr.. Same tradgedy, one survived, the other didn’t. But both couldn’t just sit back and see others die. I’ve stood in the middle of highway traffic and I’ve given CPR without a mask, so I know I’m not afraid of risking it all when the chips are down. But I’ve never had to make the choice between dying or acting, so I don’t know how I would respond until it happened. Unless, of course, it was for my kids.
I would die to save my wife, no question about it and I would much rather die than be in a world without her. No kids, but the rest of my family (siblings, parents); it’s more of a sliding scale on who I would die for.
For work, I’m a humanitarian aid worker who specializes in working in conflict/post-conflict settings. This work is often quite dangerous. I’ve worked in several conflict countries and including a couple of years in Iraq. I believe that there are certain things in this world that are worth risking it all for and the most important of these is the concept of trying to better the world.
I am willing to die for certain principles I believe in, although I would certainly rather not. It’s hard to explain clearly, but I am willing to put myself in danger to work towards making the world a better place. If I can contribute towards some kind of common good that means giving a large group of people at a chance to live in a stable society, I’m willing to takes considerable risks to achieve that and have done in the past.
For Iraq, it is particularly hard to explain. In a way, I see myself as standing up the Bushs, Saddams and bin Ladens of the world: trying to protect what they would destroy. It seems like a hopeless task, but the alternative is doing nothing. I guess it’s for hope, or more accurately, for the promise of future hope that I’m willing to take risks for. But I never say to myself that I will die for X, rather, I say to myself that this goal is worth taking risks. I will be careful in pursuing this goal, but at the end of my life, I will have more checks then minuses in my ledger and I will know that I tried.
I’d meant to add an addendum that it would depend on the situation; that is, if the best tactical decision (my, how cold that sounds!) was not to intervene, I might try not to do anything. That said, I’ve done irrational things in the past when I saw women I didn’t even know being assaulted, so I rather doubt I’d have that much sense.
I would die to prevent my husband from suffering. Note that this does not necessarily mean I would die to prevent him from dying. That’s a rather significant distinction.
I can think of a lot of situations in which I would give my life in exchange for that of another. For instance, if either my younger brother or I had to die, I would choose my own death without hesitation, as he has children (and will have grandchildren) and would be a much greater loss to the world. (Not to mention that he’s a pretty cool character and a lot of people would miss him.)
I’d die quite willingly to prevent another goddamn plane from flying into another goddamn skyscraper (or to keep a bomb from blowing up in an underground transport system, etc.).
In most cases, it has to do with relative worth. I’m worth a hell of a lot less in any measurable terms than my little brother or the collective victims of terrorists, so logic dictates that they be saved at the cost of my own life. In the case of sparing my husband pain, that’s purely personal loyalty and devotion.
Apropos of nothing, thank you for posting those links. I knew I remembered seeing Williams’ heroic act on television, but I could never prove it till now.
I don’t think there is anything or anyone I would die for. At least not right now. I’m young, I think I have potential, and I deserve a chance to achieve something in my life. I can’t think of any reason why I should give that up. (There’s also my deep and unshakeable fear of death to consider :eek:.)
I suppose I’d die to prevent the whole world from exploding or something, but in that case I’d be dead either way, so it’s more a question of whether I think humanity is worth saving.
I’m 20 years old - under no ordinary circumstances would I sacrifice my life to protect someone or something else.
Maybe if I was the only person who could defuse a nuclear bomb that was about to destroy all of New York City, I’d consider it, but that’s not an ordinary circumstance.