On Human Dignity (1)

"A life is a life; there it is; if anything is sacred, a life is. The question: Of what value is a human life? is indecent. The question: why do you want to stay alive? is a tyrant's question. It should not be asked; any answer will always be off the mark; the words will fill in poorly for the appropriate silence."

--George Kateb, Human Dignity, 2011: pp. 40.