I have been bothered by the ‘opinions’ of some who have advocated a continuation of the ‘grizzly bear hunt’ in the Aug. 23rd and 30th editions of this paper such that I felt that a letter to the Observer was warranted – something I have resisted for some years now.
Why is it that a journalist would spout off on the human being ‘managing wildlife’, when anyone looking at our destruction of the planet would see the absurdity of such a suggestion – we cannot manage life at all.
One can understand a Liberal MLA who grew up hunting animals and who was an RCMP officer called upon to kill many ‘problem bears’ and a person who earns a living guiding hunters supporting its continuation – that is the perch upon which they sit. But such views reveal little more than an abject ignorance of reality. The reality is that all life is interconnected and interdependent. This reality has been known for millenia by some amongst us and has been pointed out in the 20th Century by those whose thinking is a guiding light for all of us. In relation to the human being, Albert Schweitzer stated: “Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
Simply put, until humankind sees clearly that thinking that we exist separate from other life and the planet itself, or that we are somehow superior to other life, we are bound to continue, as we always have, in our march towards oblivion.
This includes extreme examples such as keeping our cars running in parking lots because the driver doesn’t want to get into a hot or cold car, using nature as our play place operating recreational watercrafts, trail bikes and quads, going where we want when we want no matter what with no thought given to other life and the planet itself. I could go on. We could do much better!
Ian McTavish
