By Christopher O. Tollefsen, Public Discourse.
Ben Sasse’s recent announcement reveals to us both goods and virtues that show in his dying a glimmer of light, a stirring of hope, and the possibility of spring even in one’s final winter.
February is a good month to write, read, and think about death and dying. It is still constantly dark, it is cold, and winter seems to have now become a permanent reality. Yet at the same time, spring is on the horizon; we begin to see a glimmer of light, to feel the stirrings of hope.
So, all in all, a propitious time to reflect on Sen. Ben Sasse’s announcement, in December of last year, that he has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. As he says, that diagnosis is without doubt a death sentence, a death that will be upon him rather quickly. He has now prematurely entered his own winter, and however much time he has left will in some ways be an ongoing February of suffering.
Yet Sasse’s announcement reveals to us both goods and virtues that show in his dying a glimmer of light, a stirring of hope, and the possibility of spring even in one’s final winter. All of us labor under the same death sentence that Sasse does, and so it is worth our time to reflect upon the lessons he offers us.
Let’s start with the importance of knowledge. How many of us might be tempted to fantasy when given a lethal diagnosis? But Sasse confronts the truth: “Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.” No mincing words; no turning away from truth.
Unquestionably this knowledge brings suffering. Indeed, suffering just is the awareness that things are not right, that our world, our character, our relationships with other human persons and with God, are broken. But Sasse’s unflinching acknowledgment of the truth of his situation is good in itself, as all knowledge is, but also essential for him to be able to address his dying days in a way that allows him to suffer well, to realize whatever aspects of human flourishing—and there are many—that remain for him.