Humanity Today: A Call for ActionJoin now to read essay Humanity Today: A Call for ActionA few days ago, I received an e-mail… That is not surprising, I receive tons of e-mail every day… But this e-mail made me ask myself a very important and yet difficult question… Should we be proud of being human?
The news referred to a new kind of “sport” discovered in Norway and Canada, which involves killing baby seals for fun and enjoyment. Yes, small, immaculately white baby seals are being butchered as we speak for the entertainment of some of our fellowmen.
It is true, I am a real animal lover and protector, but I would think that any normal person in this world would be appalled to hear of the existence of such terrible facts. The e-mail made me extend my thoughts upon all the horrors which man, the most intelligent being on earth, has performed throughout history and keeps doing every day.
Whether one is or is not religious, my opinion is that the “good” should be felt equally by all humans, opposite to “evil”. One doesn’t have to be a theologian or a church preacher (or just someone who goes to church on a regular basis) in order to see what the world has come to because of humanity and the power it was given unconditionally. People tend to take nature for granted, without considering that it is the source of all life and the main reason for which we can breathe, eat, drink and, thus, stay alive.
We wake up in the morning with the vivid feeling of “ruling the world”, of being able to have it all, no matter what methods we choose to accomplish it. Anything can be ours; we can use it all to achieve our purposes. When some people are asked what they are searching for in life, what they wish to achieve, most of them say “happiness”. But, I wonder, what does happiness mean to a person that kills for enjoyment or power, by defying the very balance of the universe, and shows no remorse?
Of course, it is very easy to say “I am a good person”. Let us admit it, neither of us is good. But, in my opinion, there are levels of good in this world, as well as there are levels of evil. And it is not that difficult to stretch towards the former, when we take into consideration that by this we could create a better world for all of us.
While trying to make our own, personal existence better, we cannot help noticing what surrounds us. Every day, no matter how good that specific day is for us, we hear of the horrors happening, physically, somewhere far away from us. The feeling I get is not “it’s not my problem”, but it is more like “it is happening, and that is bad enough for me and the rest of us”. And I am certain I’m not the only one. Each and every single day we hear of people killing animals, people killing people, people hating each other for money and power, people dying of hunger and poverty, animals being butchered as part of a sport called “hunting” or simply dying because man has destroyed their
The reality of this reality is not one that is the most important to me. I am a real human. It is about knowing that I am there in front of others, the best I can be – but I want to be there next to them. I want to be there to find and protect those people, those people who made this happen, who need my help. And if I cannot do this myself, why should I? And more importantly, I want to make it so that we can live together.
My wife and I (with a small group of friends and family) are at work building an infrastructures out of a piece of our home, a piece of our community, a piece of our people and a piece of our space. We are creating a community of people who have a unique sense of human beauty and who love each other and each other and who know each other, that love and understanding. Let’s start with that, and we will see what happens.
So we go to see a movie the other day. I don’t want to be disappointed again! We are shooting this film with our friends from our school, all of them young and beautiful. It is the best they would ever see! We are making this cinema!
And then there are the last minutes of the film. We are shooting in three different theaters. The last one out of Chicago, but we don’t have time (at our discretion). When we see this movie, what we want are the real movie and the movie stars. That is what we want to make our movie special.
Well, first, the actual movie. First we want the true story of the past. And we want the real story of our lives. And we want the movie to stand on its own as the documentary to see that the past really exists, that the past has to end because it has to.
Second, our people. We are all from all over the world as a nation. We are all from across the world as a religion, we all have a sense of belonging, that our lives are worth having. And we are all from every part of the world, from most places in the world, and in every continent.
Third, the people. This movie is my story. Every person on it is alive and well, he is in this film right now, and he is happy with what he’s doing and how he’s doing it. I know all his relationships, his friendships.