http://www.younggalleryphoto.com/photography/brandt/brandt.htmlMerle Sneed said...
Questions always seem smarter when we agree with them.
There is a lot of agreement in the herd. I watched a program some time ago where an Elephant herd divided. It had everything to do with picking one leader over another except by unusual circumstances and excepting Elephants. Elephants don't divide. If a herd becomes too large a few of the older sisters will break off. This herd was desperate for water. Some weaker and some of the young were dying, as all the while the rest kept moving. They stopped, not for very long but when they resumed, one group went in a direction and the other group in another direction. If they were certain of water in any direction, wouldn't they have stayed together? Dissension? Anarchy? Mutiny? The water is this way.....No I don't think so, we should go this way. OR did they know that there was possibly water in two places? If we all go here and our water source is dry we will all die. If the other way and no water? We will divide.
Absolutely amazing, I cried buckets. Yeah, I'm a great Hallmark/Kleenex target.
I do not believe humanity could save itself. When all was said and done, all the while dying, the survivors would simple say, "I told you so".
I believe it is morally imperative we become smarter, not just agreeable.
I beg to borrow Mr. Sneed's disclaimer which is something of.... sometimes I have no idea what I'm talking about.. but everything about the elephants is true because I saw it on TV.
This is a good post, we humans can learn a lot from animals, instead of trying to annihilate or control them. The "I told you so" pack of wild humans would rather die than be wrong, yeah? This is not a trait amongst animals!
ReplyDeleteI had to giggle at your last sentence, because I often quote Spinal Tap and say "I believe virtually everything I read." :-)
Yeah, animals really get it. Wish we could have a small spot in our brain to draw upon, that allowed us an animal OH! No thinking, no talking-----OH=the answer. Ok, maybe not, we might start biting each other. Never mind.
ReplyDeleteI love elephants. They are such noble animals. I used to have a client who had worked for the circus. I was ready to get into a big thing with her about how cruel it is to force elephants to perform. She told me that it is for the shy elephants, but there are elephants who love to perform. She said they would begin swaying back and forth to the music a couple of minutes before their act.
ReplyDeleteThey are not unlike us.
Now that same client is an alpaca reproduction specialist. She'll some in sometimes and say things like, "My shoulder is killing me. I had to reach in there and turn a breech."
Amazing.
xx
Would have loved to see this program. + we are animals; problem is, we keep forgetting to pay attention to the animal signals, we're so busy listening to the chatter in the front of our brain.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit, Verily. I'll be back.
Thanks for visiting .. I was going to call it The Sombrero M104 .. but it didnt have the same flow as Out & About ... ;-D
ReplyDeleteLoved the post about elephants/animals. I have always firmly believed that humans could learn so much from animals if only they would listen and look more.
ReplyDeletePart of me is glad that I didn't see the show because it would have done me in. Every night when I am in full writing mode, I usually have MSNBC on in the background with the volume turned low so that part of me can be attuned to what new madness has occurred for the day. Anyway, inevitably, Sarah Mac's commercial for the SPCA will come on; she will start singing "I will be the answer," and the pictures of the sad-eyed dogs and kittens will flash on screen.
Now here is the point: I try not to look. I will even turn my head, but at some point, I will look at the tv screen, and when I do, it's all over for me for at least a good five minutes because I begin to cry. I can't tell you how many times I've seen this commercial, and it still affects me this way.
After Katrina, after the mind-numbing statistics on the category 5 hurricane being comparable to an atomic bomb in destruction, after hearing about all of the people, my next thought was, "what about all of the pets? What about all of the animals in shelters and the zoo?"
Look into the eyes of an old dog and tell me she doesn't feel and doesn't emote and doesn't have a soul.
Sorry. Went off a little there. Haven't written my blog yet today.
Rain. By my nature I can be contrary. Not to harm, just that other side of the coin thing and I love to learn. I love conversation and when I get really stuck being the smarty pants I always go to the TV shot. It is so much fun.
ReplyDeleteMerci aussi Mr Bourges (7th grade French, that's all I know) I do know where to find you though.
M104 is mind blowing and I laughed so much when I realized it was a bus. Spectacular, just like you.. I think.
Poietes, that commercial breaks my heart too.
I sit on the floor and cry hard, tears now. The dog, yes I know that too. I had to borrow a hug from one the other day. I got a black lab puppy when I was pregnant with my first, we all grew up together.
Reya, I look to your guidance. A lot to learn. Thankful.
My personal belief is that humans will be the least successful life form, in terms of longevity, this planet has produced. Perhaps destruction goes hand in hand with intelligence.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you have that right on. Wow, ellen that sounds so scary.
ReplyDelete