Dying for a cause... good bad or stupid?

[SpillandShred]

I was just wondering what people think about those who die for their cause? Specifically I was thinking about Emily Wilding Davison but of course there are others.

"If you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren't fit to live." - Martin Luther King

For every Martin Luther king there will have been loads of people who set themselves on fire for no good reason.

I suppose it will be noble or idiotic depending if you agree with the cause.

Wasn't there a thought that Emily Davison was trying to attach a banner to the king's horse, rather than die? She'd bought a return ticket home...

I know this is missing the point a bit.

It seems an awful waste of a life for a healthy person to die for a cause especially if they’re unlikely to be revered for it.

However, I’m dying of cancer, I’m relatively young (under 50) and I can’t deny that I’ve spent time wondering if there’s something I feel strongly enough about to go out with a bang (not involving anyone else I might add!). I mean, why not?

I probably won’t because my survival instinct appears to be strong despite everything and I’m a bit of a coward but you know, I think about it.