Peggy Noonan asks why so many seem committed to death

A reader asks that I mention this column yesterday by Peggy Noonan in which she expresses puzzlement at the intensity with which some people desire that Terri die:

why do those who argue for Mrs. Schiavo's death employ language and imagery that is so violent and aggressive? The chairman of the Democratic National Committee calls Republicans "brain dead." Michael Schiavo, the husband, calls House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "a slithering snake."

Everyone who has written in defense of Mrs. Schiavo's right to live has received e-mail blasts full of attacks that appear to have been dictated by the unstable and typed by the unhinged. On Democratic Underground they crowed about having "kicked the sh-- out of the fascists." On Tuesday James Carville's face was swept with a sneer so convulsive you could see his gums as he damned the Republicans trying to help Mrs. Schiavo. It would have seemed demonic if he weren't a buffoon.

Why are they so committed to this woman's death?

They seem to have fallen half in love with death.

What does Terri Schiavo's life symbolize to them? What does the idea that she might continue to live suggest to them?

I think that Ms. Noonan's quote from the Democratic Underground sums up the answer to the questions she asks. Most of the people trying to save Terri are Christians. And liberal Democrats believe that Christians and Republicans are evil fascists. Killing Terri is all about "kicking the sh-- out of the fascists."