1036:
Inspired by the idea of "non-violence", my first
introduction to that process could be in my choice of food - "non-violent"
food. We shop and eat every day, so if our food is not connected to
violence, it's a good start. By the same token, we can’t start the
process in other areas of our life and expect much progress while we are still
engaged with violence-based foods (animal foods). It's probably our love of meat, cheese, eggs
(and the thousand and one other food and clothing items we are attached to)
that hinders our progress towards living a violence-free life. Whether we
take a knife to the lamb’s throat ourselves or let someone else do it for us,
it’s still violence of the most destructive type. Whether we cut the skin
of the calf to make our fine leather shoes or let someone else do the deed, we
are still connecting to the same violence. Being complicit in the attack
on animals means we can’t move on towards our own violence-free thoughts and
acts. We are caught up in a system of
violence that all civilisations, whether pagan, theist or atheist, have been
locked into all through history. And humans have been unable to move on
because their very survival was specifically linked to the animal-killing
world. Until fairly recently.
Not so long ago, humans experimented with
"survival-without-using-animals". They tried to do the
impossible - live animal-free.
And it worked! It made possible all the rest; the process of examining every other aspect
of human existence to see if it was possible to do it without resorting to violence.
I was watching a TV programme about a connection set up
between Canadian and South African grandmothers (in relation to the AIDS virus
and the loss of these African women's adult children). The South African women travelling to the
West noticed one thing above all else.
The Canadian women didn’t live in fear of being sexually assaulted! In South Africa, huge numbers of women and
girls are sexually assaulted. They live
in fear of violence in a way that would deeply shock most women in the Western
world.
With education comes a reduction in both violence and
unwanted pregnancies, but that’s one
small (albeit significant) aspect of the 'violence disease' the human world is
suffering at present. Relationship
breakdowns, school bullying, hunting for sport, class separation, wealth
disparities, theft, lying, vivisection, rodeos, dog fighting, fishing - the
list goes on and on. Some involve small
violence, others very great violence.
It’s the same sly disease affecting all of us. We can put up with it.
We can say it’s too endemic for any possibility of foreseeable change in the future; or we can establish the opposite.
If you dislike the disease from the past or the prospect
of it continuing into the future, you can start doing something differently in
your own backyard. We each have a part
to play in altering the emphasis. We shouldn't expect quick results
though. The current atmosphere is thick with violence. TV programmes (with those familiar warnings
beforehand) are full of violence. It seems that we like to watch
violence. Murder-detective stories are
extremely popular entertainment. Pornography
involving violence and violation of women and children, is extremely popular.
So there’s a long way to go. We
have nothing much to replace "violence" with! Who wants to
embrace a negative like 'non-violence? How can we replace
the attractiveness of violence with something less destructive?
In the food department, meat can be replaced with
"cruelty-free" alternatives, e.g. 'plant-based'. But
plants aren’t made up of rich-tasting tissue in the same way that an animal
carcass is. Plants aren’t intrinsically
as 'tasty' as animals. So if it’s not about sensual replacement, what is
it about?
How can we replace the excitement of the hunt for the
murderer, with the squeaky clean tale of peace, harmony and angelic sweetness?
Violence does have a certain attraction. It has that element of
'forbidden fruit'. It’s arousing. It’s risqué. Even when it’s
subtle, violence sits on the edge of what we might just dare deal with.
For some people it’s almost - sexy! Righteousness just doesn’t
compare.
But like a drug, we need more and more to get the same
hit. So we demand ever more plentiful, richer, tastier foods, with no
sense of responsibility for its methods of production or its ill effects on
health (let alone the animal cruelty). The virus of violence thrives on
this weakness of self will. In the end, we must suffer for our decisions
on all levels, usually some years later, at a time when we are no longer
capable of reversing things.
If we ignore all the seduction of violence and connections
with violent industry (like the Animal Industries) and adopt a more
disciplined and compassionate lifestyle now, we will come to appreciate that
decision later in life. The significance of our earlier decision will
bring us benefit, both for our conscience and by getting our body into far
better shape.
Ed. CJ
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