Of course I need to
explain why I come to this conclusion by way of example. There was an article
in Ceylon Today of 10th June 2013 (that is today to be precise!) http://www.ceylontoday.lk/76-34490-news-detail-think-eat-give-a-thought-to-your-food-print.html where he
explains the need for Human Beings to reduce their “Food Print” using the
THINK, EAT, SAVE process of consumption, where we make every effort to reduce
the carbon footprint of what we eat, by knowing the best methods of eating in
order to do this. It is an eminently readable and sensible article from a very
intelligent man, who I believe has a flaw where he tries to justify his logical
reasoning with religious nonsense. They are mutually exclusive issues.
The nonsense I refer to
is his last statement of the article, where he attributes the what he calls the
self immolation (and I call suicide) of the Ven Bowatte Indrarathena Thera to
save not only cattle, but the entire world including all living things.
If there was any
intelligent person around there are more productive and better ways of doing
this, rather than wasting his life, and then making a usual 30second media
spectacle that grabbed the headlines for a few days, and now is where it all
started as is normal. To call his act one of trying to save cattle or the world
is bordering on the ridiculous.
What a waste of a good
article that comes a cropper in trying to tie this up with the latter act of
suicide. If he believes it is so righteous, perhaps UG himself should resort to
this act, which I am sure as a logical and reasonable person I am sure he will
not. To kill oneself and then use an emotive argument is crass at the best of
times, and in this case was meant to make a mark on a person who otherwise
would have lived and died unnoticed. What people do for publicity, and others
to justify that behavior. Why are people so frightened of calling a spade a
spade and not try and justify everyone’s behavior as a noble act.
A noble act is one
living according to one’s conscience and in a non-threatening way to explain
one’s own belief system to others, so that they may wish to emulate that
behavior if they so wish, or believe it would be in their interest too.
It is this latter
behavior which we as humans engage in for the benefit of our fellow humans, not
making farcical connections, when non exist that we must live by example, so
that others who ADMIRE the example will follow or wish to emulate.
“there is a saying that
to ERR IS HUMAN” so we must therefore make every attempt to educate our fellow
human beings not to err, or at least to understand that they are actually, in
this case contributing to the carbon footprint by eating the wrong way, or the
wrong foods or some such.
UG maintains that a
professor of his in Australia woke him to the effects of meat eating on the
carbon foot print, and was a further reasoning for his becoming a vegetarian,
and accordingly he unquestionably stakes his claim to reducing the footprint
thereby.
He was I believe for a
time in the Environmental Authority attempting to do his part to save the
world, and for that I commend him. However he appears to be in an
administration, and partner of the Governing Coalition which unashamedly has
engaged in the period of the most destructive environmental damage that this
country has ever engaged in on a par or worse than when the British cut our
forests and planted, firstly coffee and then tea, that resulted, and results in
heavy top soil erosion and adversely affects water retention and run off over a
period to nourish our soils, that the Rulers of our History engaged in.
Not to be blamed as an
opportunist and charlatan he must take a firm stand against the malpractice
carried out daily in all spheres of government in leaving nothing to our
future, and not just heap all his ire on meat eaters per se.
We as humans must first
be taught that what we are doing is wrong, and try first to desist from making
the mistakes, and then at least if it is difficult to attempt to do so
gradually so we knowingly contribute to the survival of generations yet to be born,
and with whom we must build a surreal empathy if we are to make a change in this
world.
The use of the slogan of
“think, eat and save” for the World Environment Day is a sensible and laudable mark,
which it is our duty to explain to our future, namely our children what it means,
and what we can do to make it work.
ONLY once we do not confuse
religious MUMBO JUMBO, and stick to the facts in this case and explain why we are
destroying the future of our planet will we be able to make headway in arresting
all the destructive acts of mankind.
That is the way of persuading
other religions too if we truly believe in our principles, that they should also
desist or reduce their meat consumption, that is assuming our own co religionists
are also given the same message at the same time, and of reducing the number of
humans we should force upon this land, all in a coordinated way that it applies
to ALL equally and not to some.
It is only bigots who use
logic to explain their religious beliefs, when logic and religion have no basis
in the same argument. One is to save the world, and the other to save our soul.
Let us try and keep them separate and not mix them!! however much as bigots we believe they are inter related and it applies by the way to all belief systems that attempt to do this.
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