More on Death With Dignity: Whose Death? What Dignity?
Your child says to you “Mommy! Look! A dead bug! Can I step on it and watch its insides squish out?” What would you say in response? “Don’t do it.. it’s messy!” Or would there be something you would say that would be more educational and perhaps more philosophical? Would it be “All animal creatures are precious and demand respect both alive and dead?” But your observant child might respond “But Mommy, why are you always swatting live flies in the kitchen?” or “why don’t we bury the ants that you kill with the spray?” The issue I want to see discussed on this thread is how should we, how do we educate our children regarding the role of animal creatures in our life and how should we behave in presence of these animal creatures, either dead or alive. Are there some animal creatures that just don’t deserve respect, dead or alive, and no respect or dignity need be given to them dead or alive and should this be the message we send to our children? And does this response send any broader ethical message to our children? ..Maurice.
ADDENDUM: Photograph of a dead bug was taken by me during a walk in Towsley Canyon, Santa Clarita, CA on 9-26-2007. No, I didn't step on it!
posted by Maurice Bernstein, M.D. @ 12:31:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Hmmn.. no responses so far from my visitors. It could be my question was a "no brainer". Probably there would be no mother who would tell their child anything different than “Don’t do it.. it’s messy!” This issue I presented may be most ethically trivial when one compares this with the war in Iraq or a number of other issues which can be looked at from the ethical or moral point of view. On the other hand, shouldn't we teach our children so that they realize that there are other creatures in this world that need to be recognized and acknowledged with respect besides us. ..Maurice.
Okay, I'll bite. I was kind of waiting to see where this went. my approach would be to tell my child "no, you can't step on a bug just because you want to see its insides squish out, just like you can't pull the cat's tail to see what will happen". Certainly we eat animals, but I consider it within my duty of care as a future parent (hopefully) to teach children that animals are due respect, and that we should not disrespect them in life or death without having a really good reason to do so. This doesn't just mean not stepping on bugs, it means humane conditions and slaughter for food producing animals and appropriate pet-care.
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