Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A duty of care (#2608)

     I am not just talking about tort law and the duty of care we are bound together with in what we should foresee a possible harm. I am referring to how we should treat each other in a democracy. I know that other forms of self government have different levels of equality and that is not what I want to get into with this post. As a democracy we don't have levels of equality by law. Although we do see privilege and advantage manifest itself between the haves and the have nots. Another conversation for another time. A duty of care we owe each other is not only bounded between we humans but also the rest of the animal kingdom.
     We should all know by now that animals are sentient. they have a central nervous system for experiencing pain and joy as well as a cerebral cortex for understanding simple survival and social skills. Some even display cognition on at least a basic level. So although we humans are more advanced in the evolution of enlightenment, knowledge and communication, we nonetheless have to have a duty of care not only for our own species but the lesser evolved species as well. Why? Mainly for our own survival. This planet of ours, Earth, is an amazing ecosystem, tied together in it's existence to all that inhabit it in a delicate balance. If we humans, who are the stewards by default, do not care for the Earth and her complex biology, we will soon find ourselves living on an uninhabitable planet.
     So as we care for all the creatures that exist here we must also care for each other. Every single person ever born onto this planet has been an amazing compilation of intelligence and biological wonder. We are a rare species that although our numbers are massive, nevertheless none any less important than another. Our gifts are unique and abundant. We are working toward a society that helps to grow our insights into what and who we are in able to maximize our abilities, varied as they are. The future is a magnificent vision for us if we can harness the reality of our responsibilities to each other and to our planets complexity.

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