Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis
As they say, “In life, two things are certain: death and taxes.”   Due to the complexity of taxes, we have professionals who assist us with filing.   Should death be assisted by professionals as well?   Charles Krauthammer, 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner for his commentaries on politics and society, definitely disagrees.   In his article, “First and Last, Do No Harm,” Krauthammer uses a combination of irony and straight forward delivery to address his firm position against euthanasia.
Krauthammer starts his article with a line from the Hippocratic Oath, “I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked.”   All doctors must swear by this Oath before becoming a doctor.   Krauthammer sets the mood of this article by showing how dangerously ironic the Hippocratic Oath is in light of current court rulings.
Next, Krauthammer illustrates a near future using definite language to directly involve the reader.   He grabs the reader’s attention by using precise future tenses such as, “You will be old, infirm, and… near death…. You will be a burden” (56). Krauthammer then develops a usage of reasoning between the text and the reader.   “You may want to live… You may have no intention of shortening your life… should you [let go] too?” (56)   By addressing the reader directly, Krauthammer creates a connection with the reader that involves them personally.   He wants the reader not only to see how the future will be, but to start thinking about how they will react to euthanasia.
Having the reader already glued to the subject of euthanasia, Krauthammer explains how the judges came about this right.   “…the judges… plumbed the depths of the Constitution to find the ‘right’…- a right unfindable for 200 years”   (56) Krauthammer mocks the judges for how they meticulously searched for a loophole in the Constitution to make euthanasia legal.   Then Krauthammer writes how the whole Second Circuit Court of Appeals “breezily decrees”...