A Chance at Free Will
There is much to be said today about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This condition has newly been recognized as a serious issue within the past 30 years. Since PTSD is a recently discovered and recognized condition, there are still many new questions obtaining to it that are unanswered. One question is why are some people effected by PTSD and other are not?
“New PTSD studies are using technology to try to get at the answer. Select Marine and Army units are undergoing a battery of physical and mental tests before deployment including genetic testing, brain imaging and stress exams. They are followed in war zones and upon return.”
If there is an answer to why some people are more susceptible to PTSD, more things can be done to help prevent the onset of PTSD. Test are being done to see what characteristics people have that might encourage them to suffer to PTSD. This shows that with PTSD there is not free will when it comes to being effected by it. It is very similar to a theme that occurs throughout the book Slaughter House-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
“Welcome aboard, Mr. Pilgrim.” said the loudspeaker. “Any questions?”
Billy licked his lips, thought a while, inquired at last: “Why me?”
“That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?”
“Yes.” Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a blob of polished amber with three ladybugs embedded in it.
“Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.” (97)
This quote is taken from Slaughter House-Five and it shows that there are some things in life that just happens and there is nothing that can be done about them. throughout the book there is always the question why? The answer to the question is just because. There is no other reason besides that it just happens. Some people are more adapt to suffering from PTSD and other even when it comes to seeing similar events. Ideally no one wants to suffer from PTSD, it just happens.
Chang, Alicia. “Military Experiment Seeks to Predict PTSD – TIME.” Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com. 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2009.
Kurt., Vonnegut,. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dial Trade Paperback, 1999. Print.
