hauled up on deck
the humpback whale
breathing its own blood
(Adele Kenny)
Humanity
Dignity is concerned with
respect
and esteem; of valuing things and being
responsible for them.
Humanity has an appalling record of conduct.
We have raped the planet.
We have soiled our world with
garbage
and waste products.
We have killed and enslaved countless species of animals.
None of this was for survival.
Greed and commerce outweigh decency - even today Norwegian and Japanese
whalers kill creatures without
remorse.
The
Japanese
call it 'scientific study'...
Captivity
Keeping
animals
in cages denies them any dignity.
Animals like to roam, to live without confinement and were never meant to be
kept as pets or spectacles.
Birds need to fly, carnivores
hunt
and bears need to wander.
Fortunately our era has seen a decline in the popularity of zoos and other
vulgar exhibitions.
People have lost their taste for sad, broken creatures.
Reserves are more considerate in principle, but inadequately patrolled to
prevent poaching.
Poaching
Primitive man hunted animals for food and clothing.
They pitted their wits against other creatures in a quest for survival and
did not take more than they required.
Eskimos and Native Americans used to craft their weaponry with care and paid
homage to the
creatures they were to kill,
thanking the
planet for providing
food.
The act of killing was not a sport.
As humans began to overpopulate, greed took over and creatures were killed
for profit.
Ignore it all
Humans do not look after things; our legacy is one of neglect, abuse,
destruction and indifference.
In recent years there has been an increased awareness of
poverty
and
homelessness
- but these problems remain.
There is sufficient wealth and resources to help everybody but not the
will.
Politicians, bureaucrats and business interests often
occlude
matters.
The average person looks after themselves.
Dignity
Dignity is a powerful virtue.
It suggests: proper, decent, fitting, appropriate, ethical, honourable,
gravity, grace, worth and value.
How rare is it that we behave with dignity or accord it to others?
We take our affluence and freedom for granted and ignore the plight of
others.
It is easy to pretend that things do not matter; that nothing can be changed
or that it is somebody else's responsibility.
At the heart of dignity is a quiet
integrity; a nobility of purpose.
Without fanfare or
outward show, a person
can act with courage,
composure and
resourcefulness.
They can subtly change things.
Page created 19 March 2004