Creating our own dilemma

Its a common dilemma: We imagine a boundary, elevate our side and devalue what is on the other side, and make it difficult for ourselves to recognize it as an imagined boundary.

It is easy to see among some Christian fundamentalists. In their own minds, they elevate humans as being made in God’s image, and devalue non-humans as a lesser category of beings. From within such a mindset, removing the boundary means that humans ends up in the same group as beasts, and it is not a very attractive proposition.

The solution is of course to elevate non-human species and gain a more realistic view of humans. We can recognize the immense beauty of the natural world. The intelligence, caring and fit to their environment of all species, come about through millions of years of evolution. Our shared ancestors and close kinship with all life. How we are all expressions of a seamless process of evolution of this planet. The ways our evolutionary past is played out in our daily life, and how a recognition of this can be a great help to us.

As always, the question is: where do I do the same? Where do I imagine an boundary, elevating my side and devaluing what is on the other side, making it difficult for me to recognize it as an imagined boundary?

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outline….

• creating ones own dilemma
  • want to elevate humans by making them special, so devalue non-human species
  • then, if lose what makes human special, belong to the devalued group
  • instead – avoid the whole problem, find genuine appreciation for non-human species + evolution
  • as always, how do I do the same?

To elevate non-human species, we can recognize the beauty of the natural world and all forms of life. Appreciate the intelligence, caring, beauty of their fit to their environment and how that has come about through millions of years of evolution. To see that we all share ancestors, that we are all closely related. That we share a great proportion of genetic information. That we all share physiology, in the case of mammal to a great extent. Recognize that we are all expressions of a seamless process of evolution of this planet.