.. and i want life in every word to the extent that its absurd

Drops of sweat steadily dripped down my forehead as I neared the end of my elliptical routine.  I usually zone-out at the gym, so I was taken aback when the man on the neighboring machine turned to speak to me.  "Switch the channel, you're gonna get nightmares," he casually warned breaking my stare at the monitor.  

I wasn't watching shark week.  David Banner's video for "Play" wasn't on (which comes on wayyy too frequently in my opinion *shudders*).  I was watching the news.

Huntington, Utah.  For the past few days, this random town has been plaguing my thoughts (I guess my work out neighbor was right).  The six miners trapped in the Utah mountain mine collapse on August 6th have yet to be found.  As unfortunate as this scenario is, it was just another tragic tale on the news to me until last Thursday.  On August 16th, three rescue workers were killed in a cave-in and six were injured.  Three men died in a failed attempt to save six others that might be alive.

There's survivable space on this mountain.  This is what keeps hope alive in the hearts of the family members of those that have been missing for fourteen days now.  This resilient hope is battling quite a heap of discouraging realities.  The mountain has been restless - heaving and shuddering with seismic activity.  Vibrations lasting as long as five minutes have been picked up, but these tantalizing sounds could have easily been caused by animals or breaking rocks.   The listening devices (geophones) work in tests, but have never before successfully found a missing miner.  The air quality, more recently, has been found unable to support life.

Are these six miners still alive?  Probably not.  But there's more to life than simple logic and reason.

I find myself unsettled by the confusing ethics of this situation.  I can't decide if the rescue effort is a waste or not.  Should these six trapped men be abandoned?  No, of course not.  Should three men have had to die in a mountain they knew to be dangerous?  No, of course not.

The search's been put on a halt.  Halt - a standstill, not a termination.  Where should it go from here?  Should we risk the lives of more rescue workers in the hopes of finding the trapped miners?  What if we lose more lives than we are trying to save? 

The numbers of "trapped" and "deaths" represent people, not inanimate objects - that would make it easy.  More than a hundred rescue workers have been on this case.  Would you risk more than a hundred dollars at the possible chance of retrieving six?  Nope.  But, how do you decide if its worth the risk if what you're gambling with is human lives?

The human element is what complicates matters.  A human life cannot have a value placed upon it.  It cannot perfectly be judged for what it is worth.  That's why I am against euthanasia  Assisted suicide without consent would require creating a standard or a line that you are no longer worthy of life after you cross.  No human should be given the power to decide who gets to live and who gets to die.

Nevertheless, in this case, we are forced to make a decision.  While searching actively risks more lives, discontinuing searching actively shows disregard for the lives of the trapped miners.  Where's the balance between reasonability and respect/morality?  It's a complicated, murky line that no one should have to bear the burden to draw.

Even if we ultimately determine these men to be dead, do we endanger more lives to find their bodies?  Some may see no justification for leaving people to die despite the risks, but what about those already dead?  There won't be closure for these families without bodies, but again, what possible price are willing to pay for that closure?

My heart earnestly goes out to all the families involved in this tragic misfortune and the people that have to undertake the difficult task of deciding the next step. 

I have no clue what I'd do.