In of my favorite scenes from Bad Lieutenant, a strung out Nicolas Cage corners an elderly woman and her caretaker inside of her
retirement home. In order to extract information on the whereabouts of the
caretaker’s absconded son (a witness for the prosecution’s impending capital
murder trial), Cage’s character opts to physically cut off the old woman’s
oxygen supply as a convenient extortion tactic, ending the scene on a slightly political note: “you
ever think about your kids, your grandkids, sucking up their inheritance with
that fucked oxygen tube….I should kill you both…you’re the fucking reason this
country’s going down the drain.” This November 8th however, Terence McDonagh is not an option on the presidential
ballot. No matter who wins between the pro-life and pro-choice candidates, it
is relatively guaranteed that euthanasia (legal in only 4 states) will continue
to remain a taboo and undiscussed matter. Perhaps then we will have to leave it
to the most American of delights—like a rollercoaster—to convince people of the
potential upside of assisted suicide. Behold the Euthanasia Coaster.