Happy 2014...Humans are Still Obtuse

Hello everyone...

On a happy note, a very happy new year to you.  I send you all groovy groovy vibes  of health and joy for 2014.

So it pains me to follow this up with a blog such as this, but I have to let you know that humans are still obtuse.

I have spent the past few days, when I've had time,  reading articles and watching videos that point to this undeniable fact.

And while being informed and open-minded and honest about my own obtuseness is great, it still must be acknowledged that KNOWING about obtuseness and WRITING about obtuseness is not ACTION.  And without action, nothing will change, so I am clearly a part of the obtuseness problem.


So this video came across my computer screen:    The Cove PSA

In it, a cavalcade of actors and celebrities poetically bemoan the horrible plight of how dolphins in Japan are rounded up into a dead-end death pit, either to be carted off to an aquarium or chopped up to be sold as plastic wrapped bits on a styrofoam tray.

This public service announcement was eloquent and gave me heartache and all the "feels".

I have no problem with celebrities doing public service announcements.

My problem was with the inevitable comments below the video.  Oh, you know the comments.


"Why can't these celebrities put their money where their mouths are and find a way to spend their way to saving the dolphins?"

"Why can't the rich and fabled 1% spend some of THEIR money to fix situations like this?"

"Why are we all choked up about dolphins when humans are all too willing to eat their aquatic neighbors, as well as their land-bound cow and pig brethren? Shouldn't we care about ALL animals?"

"Why should we be tossing attention and money towards dolphins when we should be spending our money helping poor, suffering humans?"


Are all these commenters correct?  In one sense, yes.

It would be nice if more celebrities and rich folks put their money to work for good causes, although to be fair there are plenty of celebrities and rich folks who do just this.

And yes, it is hypocritical for people to only want to save the cute smily anthropomorphic animals, but be willing to nibble on the less visually appealing ones (although I have always thought cows and pigs were cute).

But here we come to the crux of my gripe.

Just to clarify right away, I don't want anyone...ANYONE...to suffer.  I don't want starvation, or disease, or pain or war.   People are suffering, right now, and we should do everything we can to guide, help, encourage and save.

However...

Humans are not the only creatures on this planet.

Although we clearly are trying to be so.    In our efforts to tame, control, own and exploit this planet we have decimated habitats, brought some animals and plants  to the brink of extinction while tossing others right over the cliff into extinction.   What we aren't busy eating we are trying to domesticate, fiddling with DNA to create animals that can't breathe right (bulldogs) and plants that have lost their ability to reproduce themselves (bananas).

So whenever someone pokes at an effort to save a species of animal or type of plant by saying "But what about the suffering humans?", I get a bit prickly.  Not because the suffering humans don't need help, but because animals and plants need help too.

And really,  the fates of animals, plants and humans do not need to be mutually exclusive.  We can surely, with our big massive brains, comprehend that more entities on  his planet besides humans need help.

Just consider what would happen to the food chain--that interconnectedness of all life on this planet--if we lost some of the vital insect, plant and animal links that keep it working?

We're living in the middle of a field of wobbly dominoes, and I am increasingly convinced that it doesn't matter which domino gets pushed--bumblebees,  redwood trees,  dolphins or people--when one domino falls, the rest of us won't be far behind.

A cautionary tale from Christina for the new year?  That is for others to decide.

But a good start towards a good year might be for all of us to take a larger look at our planet, and realize that everything and everyone is a lot more interconnected than many would like to admit.

Sigh.

I'm stepping off my soapbox now....


Until next time.