This week was great. I enjoyed all of the topics and thought Lisa, Caitlin, and Allison led great classes/chose great presenters. I also find myself thinking about three troublesome ideas (see title) related to the topics this week.
The trouble with tradition:
I think a lot of the hesitation and slow-going progress in the green burial movement is because of what we see as tradition. It's hard to change a lot of minds when people see it as being such an important and sensitive issue. I know that in conversations I've had with people on this topic, many don't like to think about their body decomposing. They want their loved ones to have a big memorial service, with the body visible to all. And they want a personal headstone to memorialize their loved one for well into the future. I know that I, personally, love walking through cemeteries and looking at old headstones. I appreciate the history and stories that cemeteries provide. Having a bunch of names all one one rock or a name on a groundstone is not the same, and I think that this could be hard to swallow for some people, especially older generations. In the United States, we have separated people from nature for a long time, both in life but also in death. We hold humans at the top of the hierarchy - which is a difficult position to come down from.
The difficulty in educating:
Growing up in Baltimore I had no idea what bees were "good for". I always thought of them as big mosquitoes - who wants or needs them anyway? They fly around and sting people and no one seems to like them. I was terrified of bees, which I think is a pretty common feeling for many urban children. Of course, as I grew older and began to learn more and analyze my every action and feeling, I had a change of heart. But I don't know that is the natural process for most people. Like snakes, spiders, and mosquitoes, bees are an insect people don't seem to like because of fear or a lack of knowledge. And as we've discussed in one of our classes before, it's hard to educate when strong negative emotions like fear are present. And, on top of the fear problem, people tend to sympathize with mammals and birds, not insects.
Missed opportunities:
I think one of the most frustrating things for me is the lack of effort from adults to discuss difficult topics with their children and to consider what is right and wrong before they consider what will make their child happy. I talked about "Free Willy" and "Finding Nemo" at Black Pine. These movies are supposed to teach children about the problems with captivity, yet after watching these movies kids want to go to SeaWorld or get Nemo for their fish tank, and parents allow them to do so. I think that adults need to have discussions with children, reinforce missed messages, and talk about moral dilemmas. I absolutely believe that we do not give enough credit to children to make the right decisions. But of course, I also feel as though adults are also guilty of putting pleasure before morality, as well.
Hope!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Nm5uv292g
The trouble with tradition:
I think a lot of the hesitation and slow-going progress in the green burial movement is because of what we see as tradition. It's hard to change a lot of minds when people see it as being such an important and sensitive issue. I know that in conversations I've had with people on this topic, many don't like to think about their body decomposing. They want their loved ones to have a big memorial service, with the body visible to all. And they want a personal headstone to memorialize their loved one for well into the future. I know that I, personally, love walking through cemeteries and looking at old headstones. I appreciate the history and stories that cemeteries provide. Having a bunch of names all one one rock or a name on a groundstone is not the same, and I think that this could be hard to swallow for some people, especially older generations. In the United States, we have separated people from nature for a long time, both in life but also in death. We hold humans at the top of the hierarchy - which is a difficult position to come down from.
The difficulty in educating:
Growing up in Baltimore I had no idea what bees were "good for". I always thought of them as big mosquitoes - who wants or needs them anyway? They fly around and sting people and no one seems to like them. I was terrified of bees, which I think is a pretty common feeling for many urban children. Of course, as I grew older and began to learn more and analyze my every action and feeling, I had a change of heart. But I don't know that is the natural process for most people. Like snakes, spiders, and mosquitoes, bees are an insect people don't seem to like because of fear or a lack of knowledge. And as we've discussed in one of our classes before, it's hard to educate when strong negative emotions like fear are present. And, on top of the fear problem, people tend to sympathize with mammals and birds, not insects.
Missed opportunities:
I think one of the most frustrating things for me is the lack of effort from adults to discuss difficult topics with their children and to consider what is right and wrong before they consider what will make their child happy. I talked about "Free Willy" and "Finding Nemo" at Black Pine. These movies are supposed to teach children about the problems with captivity, yet after watching these movies kids want to go to SeaWorld or get Nemo for their fish tank, and parents allow them to do so. I think that adults need to have discussions with children, reinforce missed messages, and talk about moral dilemmas. I absolutely believe that we do not give enough credit to children to make the right decisions. But of course, I also feel as though adults are also guilty of putting pleasure before morality, as well.
Hope!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Nm5uv292g
No comments:
Post a Comment