PRISONER EXPRESS

The word compassion, although a noun, is such a broad and all-encompassing word that to write on it, one would need to be specific in the area of interest in order to employ a writing worthy of measuring up to a word. Compassion is a very much needed emotion in our world today. So, I've chosen to make nature my specific topic of compassion. In a world of such highly advanced technological achievement with our abilities to smash atoms, travel space, and modern advancement in medicine, why haven't we advanced in our moral turpitude towards nature itself. It seems like an all out war has been waged against Mother Nature.

So many valuable and precious minerals are being extracted from the earth in the name of science and pleasure. Our great lakes and rivers are being contaminated by big businesses and industrial factories dumping their chemical waste into them, and our oceans are experiencing the same problem with major oil spills. Air pollution has depleted the ozone layer and has made the air unsafe to breathe, and our marine life is filled with lead and mercury poisoning, making them unsafe to eat.

Our wild animals are in frenzy from wondering if their home will be there tomorrow. We have completely thrown them out of their habitats and have warehoused them like common criminals by placing them on privately owned ranches and wildlife parks for exhibition and hunting. It is typical news to see on our news everyday wild deer, bears, antelopes and other animals dead on highways and roads. Moreover, our kids are being programmed through audio/video like play-station, x-box, Sega, and cartoon programming to believe that killing animals is a sport.

What if oil, what everyone is fighting over, was the main vein or artery that helps or contributes to the Earth's core of producing new soil to help replenish the Earth's vegetation and botanicals? Just as humans need their blood to survive, so does the Earth need its natural resources to keep our ecological system intact. Being a humanitarian means more than just being caring and compassionate toward humanity, it also encompasses a greater resolve and duty towards the lesser creatures we share this planet with. We are indebted to Mother Nature to love and protect her, it is through her that civilizations have survived and thrived--she is the mother of all living. It is through her that we have food, clothing, and shelter. To have compassion means to have sympathy for someone who is suffering or distressed in some way, the evidence of our abuse and neglect is right in front of our eyes--why won't we listen?