4) morituri te salutamus

We give death a personification, an image, a perception of what to fear as inevitable. It happens every second, but everyone tries to dodge the subject. There is the American society that stays away from death, but at the same time, has a weird and complex obsession for it.

There hasn't been one Hollywood action movie where the protagonist does not have a brush with death, or is involved in the act themselves. Countess fiction and non fiction devote themselves entirely to the subject. You can find it anywhere and everywhere. You just have to look for it.

Episodes of the popular television show Family Guy depict Death as a laid back character who fumbles with his job. In the episode "Death is a Bitch", there is a scene where one of the main characters, Peter has dialogue with Lois, his wife, and Stewie, his infant son:

Peter: Look. Here they are. My family. Guys, I don't say this often enough, but I'm gonna die!
Lois: Oh my god.
Stewie: High five! Anyone? Anyone?

Of course you could argue that this is purely fictional and for laughs, but what I'm trying to emphasize is that death causes a paradoxical response. We can laugh and make jokes from it, then find out that your cat Whiskers died, leaving you in tears. We've come so far in humanity as to render Death a subconsciously strong symbol of something we understand all too well. Just google death and war and you will see dead bodies, weapons, and destruction of past and present wars.

Is it ethically wrong to be so close to it? We could say it causes extreme behavior in people. Then again there are extremes that people go to to depict it (WARNING:GRAPHIC):

Then there is the glorious side of it calling. The ancient samurai practiced a strict code of honor unto death, as do the modern day Klingons of Star Trek. We find this fascinating and might even imagine ourselves in it. When we understand they survived through death, we can imagine ourselves in their position. Here's an excerpt from Eric Nylund's The Fall Of Reach:

"The red war stripes that had been painted on the Iroquois' side looked like bloody slashes. The dockmaster had privately told Commander Keyes that his crew could buff the paint off - or even repaint the stripes, if he wanted.
Commander Keyes politely refused the offer. He wanted them left exactly the way they were. He wanted to be reminded that while everyone had admired what he had done - it had been an act of desperation, not heroism.
He wanted to be reminded of how close a brush he had had with death." (Nylund 157)

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've imagined myself in Captain Keyes's position. I am no exception to the fascination with death rule. I'm not trying to say it's a good or bad thing. I'm just trying to make you think on what I've already said.

And when my desperate hour comes, I will remember what I know by heart: "Be not afraid of the man unwilling to die, but be terrified of the one who is going to sacrifice them-self in a heartbeat."