The Sanctity of Life... or Lack Thereof

in #life5 years ago

We're horribly inconsistent, as a species, when it comes to when and why we value life... and when we don't.

Of course, I can only look at this through the lens of perception of my own experience, living in the USA for the past 38 years — maybe things are different, elsewhere. I don't think so, though.

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What is the value of this seagull's life?

Am I strange, in seeing these inconsistencies? Or do I just have dubious moral values? Please keep in mind as you read these that I am not taking sides, I am merely pointing out inconsistencies, without calling anything "right" or "wrong."

Also, these are generalities, so you may not see the point in them... at least on a personal level.

Consider this: We're "horrified and outraged" if someone in excruciating pain with a terminal disease wants to take their own life... but we call it "justifiable" to shoot someone who breaks into our house to steal our stereo.

Consider this: People are opposed to abortion, calling it "murder," and want to hold all life "sacred" but when that same "sacred" life turns 18, it's miraculously OK to ship them to a foreign country against their will to die at the hands of someone fighting for a cause they don't even care about.

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A prickly topic....

Consider this: 100 people dying violently in a battle are considered "heroes" but 100 people dying violently in a natural disaster are considered "victims."

Consider this: Religious teachings of many cultures teach the lessons of peace and love while also advocating war against those who would think differently from them.

Consider this: "Social cleansing" is still a real thing in certain parts of the world. Who's the judge, juror and summary executioner in deciding "this life, but NOT that life?"

Yes, I know, moral overlays, political bullshit and so on and so forth.

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In search of balance

But what happens when we strip away these artificially constructed "values" and simply look at "life," without resorting to rationalizations and justifications for why one death is acceptable and another is not?

Do different lives have different "value?" Does a conscripted soldier's death have the same "value" as an earthquake victim's? How about that soldier's life compared to that of an aborted fetus? Aren't they all just lives, absent the bruhaha of our moral overlays?

It's funny how — usually when there's some kind of crisis — things become a "life and death situation," and nobody's too worried about what kind of life it is.

A number people will be made uncomfortable by the very premise of this post because I am trying to look at the issue without the inevitable "more important than/less important than" approach, and our individual biases.

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

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(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190316 16:04 PST

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I typed up a long blithering oppinion filled rant.....

I then backspaced it thee eff out.

So i guess that means I reserve the right to comment later.....

But probably will not, One thing I have learned in my 52+ yrs. My oppinion really means nothing.

Now back to the cat posts.... lol

Posted using Partiko Android

You're always welcome to rant away, here. The insanity of this planet seems to tend towards a maximum, no matter what... so there's usually plenty to rant about.

One of the reasons I often prefer the company of cats to that of humans...

I often adopt the point of view that our human lives (indeed, all life on earth) are about as important to much larger levels of being (solar system, galactic, cosmic) as microbes are to me. In other words, not individually significant.

It helps to be able to climb a nearby mountain and look down on the town I just left, at how tiny it now looks. How could all that strife and drama, joy and sorrow possibly be going on inside what is now a mere dot upon a vast landscape?

Interesting. I tend to have very similar thoughts when going somewhere by plane, from where I can look down on a pretty large city from six miles up... and it's all just little tiny dots. And it underscores my feeling that of all these lives... none are important... and none are not important.

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Hi there @cuddlekitten! Nice to see you still occasionally show up around the community.

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