The human race seems determined to remain in denial about the limits to our existence; we set up both psychological and physical walls to preserve our mental state.
The first example of this is our collective ignorance to the dependence society has on death. This in itself is not a bad thing, animals have consumed other life forms since the beginning, the true issue is that we are largely unaware of the life that was sacrificed to feed humanity. In “Death and the Ecological Crisis” by Steven Peck this is addressed by taking a magnifying glass to how the food industry has wrapped up all of the death into neat little packages that do not nearly resemble the living beasts they came from. Another author, Avi Solomon, interviews the political scientist Timothy Pachirat in “Working Undercover in a Slaughterhouse” about how the factory itself is organized to hide and ignore the thousands of deaths. Walls, a miniature hierarchy of workers, and technical terms draw the life out of the animals sentenced to die. These two pieces of reading really opened my mind to how spoiled and separated we are from what we eat and made me question my vegetarian beliefs. Am I feeding into the ignorance of society by thinking I can avoid being involved with death by avoiding eating meat?
Another example is our dependence on religion and the hope that we may leave a mark upon the world before we go. It seems we are unsatisfied just being and have an innate desire to be remembered. While reading “The Worm at the Core” I truly realized how deeply death, and the flee from it, drives many of the institutions we depend on for a more meaningful life. I myself have always been religious as when I am feeling at my lowest it is a comfort to know that my mistakes will be forgiven and that I will be ever beloved. I will not be changing my beliefs or losing my faith, but it was interesting to consider that foundationally religion is terror management. Am I avoiding thoughts about death by convincing myself that I will live on in Heaven?
Heaven by Zac Kinkade
https://zackinkadeart.com/product/heaven-limited-edition-canvas/
The Worm at the Core
Steven Peck, “Death and the Ecological Crisis” Download “Death and the Ecological Crisis” (pp. 105-109)
Avi Solomon, “Working Undercover in a Slaughterhouse: an interview with Timothy Pachirat”