What would you do ?

What an interesting question, and probably nobody has answered because to say that you "would do it" ... could be considered immoral and nobody would admit to that, but to say that you wouldn't would probably mean that the person was inexperienced and couldn't actually say that they have been faced witha hard pressed critical situation. These kind of decisions, in my opinion, are in fact made everyday by most everyone, we just dont' realize it.

Say you have a platoon of military men fighting for their country, and a man is down in the middle of a crossfire. The leader, to divert the focus from his crew having thoughts of saving their crew member, shoots the injured man and reminds them of the task at hand, refocusing their attention on combat, and ultimately the welfare of their own lives. Whose to say if that's right or wrong?

Your child is in need of food and clothes and you have no money, so what do you do? You decide to rob the local convenience store, holding the clerk at gunpoint. Whose to say that you won't pull the trigger? Having never been in this position before, it's impossible to tell. So your wish would be for the health and welfare of your child while risking the life of yourself, and their ultimate welfare, as well as the lives of other and their families.

So I guess, it would all depend on your "wish."

If my child needed a heart transplant, would I push that button and make a wish? yes.

If I felt that I could free the world of illness by taking out a whole country, I'd probably push that button... Even if that meant taking the risk of losing my child with that new heart transplant, you have to consider the greater good.

Would I push that button to go to the bahamas? or for a million dollars, that coveted promotion? No...

Thanks for the great question... definitely inspires alot of thought

Hell, I 'd be pushing that button all the time. Let's say I need a cold beer. All I have to do is push a button to get it? And some dude dies in, let's say Russia. Poof! See ya' Igor.... I'm thirsty.

Or I have a yearning for a candy bar. Poof! There goes another Eskimo.

No quandry here. I absolutely would not feel tempted to push the button.

Not even for a cold beer, Edgar?

"Victims? Don't be melodramatic. Tell me. Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money? Or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man. Free of income tax - the only way you can save money nowadays."

Not even for a keg of it, gus.

Edgar, I thought we could become friends, but you seem a bit too altruistic for my tastes.

I mean, if you're not willing to kill someone, what the hell kind of person are you.

And what the hell is Joe rambling on about?

Now THAT was truly funny! Thanks for the laugh, gustav. I think the "there goes another Eskimo" line was what made it perfect...


Personally, I know I'm in la la land, but I'd wish for some crazy ass superpowers and spend the rest of my life working off the death I was responsible for by helping people.

Suppose that every time you spend money on some luxury for yourself instead of giving the money to a charitable organization, someone poor person (probably overseas) dies who would otherwise have lived.

Would you still wish for that cold beer or candy bar knowing that a child would starve to death every time you pigged out on unneeded calories?

Somehow it is far more objectionable to kill someone by deliberately pushing a button than to allow them to die simply by failing to act to save them. But they are just as dead, either way.

I don't think I have the wisdom to know where to stop on the slippery slope.

Push the button for a cure for cancer. Sure.

Push the buttton for a cheap, renewable and environmentally friendly form of energy. Sure.

But after these type of no-brainers, would I know when to stop?

I actually can't think of anything I'd want for me that I wouldn't be much happier about if I earned it myself rather than pushing a button. And as for curing cancer, as Jim said - I don't know if I'm qualified to make those kinds of wishes. Better ask a doctor.

Yeah. For example, overpopulation is a serious problem. I'd have to make some sort of corresponding wish before I made a cure for cancer wish; like universal affordable access to birth control for all women, maybe.

Did anyone see that X-Files where Mulder finds a genie and wishes for world peace and everyone in the world disappears?

Given the fact that we are all going to die, if were someone I didn't know, I would make a wish. Fine, I'm selfish!! I could not make that risk if it were one of my loved ones at risk, for my wish. So, I guess that I would have to say NO. No wish of mine is worth my loved ones. I can say that I wouldn't feel this guilt for a stranger and would answer differently if my loved ones were protected. That answer sucks, but is honest.

Can I choose the person to be killed? No even so, I would not push the button. I do not believe in killing others. The only dilemma I could ever see in this case for me is if it was to save my child's life. Say for instance my child had an incurable disease, would I kill some one to save her life, now that is tough.

Well, while on the subject of The Twilight Zone, I say screw the button. I'd rather be that kid who could wish people into the cornfield.

Crazyness
It's crazy to think of all the people who would indeed touch the botton for say a keg of beer, not knowing who they would kill in the process, but my question is would just a human being die or would the animals people are raising on farms or would the close pets people keep die as well?

I personally am a believer that if you do one thing something in your life will have to change so if I were to press a button I know someone I was close to would die in the process so I'm not going near the botton.

You might not want to push a button to kill someone, but would you push a button to save someone's life?