The Persistence of Life

Posted on October 29, 2012 by zoeweil
Image copyright Zoe Weil.

Growing up in Manhattan, I always marveled at the capacity of nonhuman life to thrive in the city. For example, there was a tree a few blocks from our apartment building that had grown from a dark pit underground, up through a tight sidewalk grating, into a fully leaved and impressive canopy.

Then there were the pigeons. Pigeons are otherwise known as rock doves, originally native to wild rocky cliff regions of Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia. I’ve seen them only a few times in the wild and never very many at one time. But they’re ubiquitous in big cities across the globe, where they’ve turned highrise window ledges into nesting sites. Some people don’t much like pigeons – calling them rats with wings (rats being another denizen of cities) – but I love them. I love their various coloring, the way their heads move as they walk, and their soothing coos.

When I was recently in New York City, performing my 1-woman show, I came upon a small puddle after a rain. Bathing in the puddle were sparrows and starlings (see photo). How sweet these little birds were, careful to avoid passersby, but quick to return to the puddle for their bath and then pick up the crumbs on the ground from people’s lunches and snacks.

Life is all around us, so pervasive and persistent. Grass seeds take root in specks of soil in cracks in the sidewalk. Winged maple leaves helicopter to the street and find themselves a sandy spot to grow; and come fall, you suddenly notice them because their autumn vermilion color stands out against the grey of the street. Those trees-to-be won’t grow beyond seedlings, of course, but they remain tenacious ‘til the end.

How amazing life is.

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

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My Dogs Are in the 1 Percent

Posted on October 24, 2012 by zoeweil

The other day, when my husband and I were in the woods with our dogs, and they were joyfully running and playing and sniffing and scratching, I commented that our dogs are definitely in the 1 percent. My husband was quick to point out that they were in the .01 percent. I said, “like Warren Buffett,” and he agreed. Our dogs’ lives are just so good, and they even have live-in, full-time, free health care because my husband is a veterinarian.

It was interesting to realize what constituted life in the 1 percent for a dog. It was pretty simple. Our dogs are in the 1 percent because they live in a beautiful place where they get to run freely and play to their hearts’ content, exploring woods and fields and swimming in ponds and the ocean. They are in the 1 percent because they’re rarely left alone and have someone to pet them, brush them, feed them, and play with them every day of their lives. They are in the 1 percent because they have adequate and nutritious food and good care when they’re ill. They are in the 1 percent because they are sheltered in a home, protected from the elements, and have a comfortable place to sleep and rest. They’re in the 1 percent because they have one another and are never lonely. And they are in the 1 percent because there are just so many dogs all over the world who are abandoned, caged, abused, neglected, hungry, lonely, scared, and homeless.

Dogs don’t have very extravagant wants. Some dogs other than ours might have fancier dog beds, collars, and leashes. They might have more expensive toys or elaborate dog houses, but they aren’t in a percentage more elite than my dogs, because dogs don’t care about such things. To be in the 1 percent, all a dog needs are what’s described above.

The concept of the 1 percent and the 99 percent, made so popular and powerful by the Occupy movement would, I believe, vanish, if the 99 percent all had their basic needs met. Would we really care that someone made millions each year as long as everyone had shelter, adequate food, clean water, economic opportunity, health care, access to their energy needs, and basic freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and petition? As long as everyone was free from abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and oppression?

I look forward to the day when we don’t pay much attention to the 1 percent because we’ll all have our needs met and all be able to pursue our dreams and all be contributing to a healthy and just world. I look forward to the day when the 99% means just this.

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

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Everyone Can Do One Thing

Posted on October 22, 2012 by zoeweil

In our graduate programs at the Institute for Humane Education, our graduate students watch quite a lot of videos. The films cover human rights, environmental preservation, animal protection, and cultural issues, and many – if not most – are difficult to sit through because they depict the grave problems we face in the world and the injustices that still need to be overcome. In order to teach about pressing global challenges and cruelties, we must understand them. In order to prepare youth to be conscientious choicemakers and engaged changemakers, we need to teach them about the challenges humans confront and the looming catastrophes we will face if we don’t act wisely. We cannot do this if we aren’t fully informed ourselves.

Yet, how can we remain hopeful, enthusiastic, positive, and optimistic if we continually expose ourselves to atrocities? This is one of the great paradoxes of being a humane educator. Currently, the new film series Half the Sky, based on the book of the same title by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, has been airing on PBS. It’s an extremely difficult film to watch. Chronicling the plight of brutalized and exploited girls and women in the world, there is little left unsaid or unseen. It is easy to watch this film and sink into despair and despondency. And for some of our humane education students this is a real danger.

And yet, as Somaly Mam, a child prostitute turned activist to stop sex trafficking and help girls who have been sold into prostitution, said in the film, “Everyone can do one thing.” If ever there was a person who could have fallen into permanent despair, here she is. Yet Somaly Mam is a paragon of determined energy, hopefulness, and action, beaming as she carries on work that exposes her to the most extreme cruelty and brutality perpetrated on children.

Everyone can do one thing. The trick is to discover what one thing one ought to do. We each have our specific concerns, our own special talents, the skills we’ve cultivated, and the things that bring us joy when we do them. Finding our “one thing” is a process of melding our concerns, talents, and passions, and discovering that sweet spot where they come together. When we do this, exposing ourselves to cruelties and atrocities is bearable, because we know we are making a difference. We are, through our actions, confirming Joan Baez’ great realization: “Action is the antidote to despair.”

It’s crucial that we expose ourselves to the brutalities in the world and not turn away. It’s critical to see with our eyes what others have to endure with their bodies. It’s important, because if we don’t know, we can’t act. But just as important is that we find our one thing to do, so that our witnessing leads to positive change and leaves us empowered and joyful, not depressed and impotent. For humane educators, we bring our knowledge to others, preparing our students to be problem-solvers for a better world. There’s little as heartening as this.

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

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Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

Posted on October 15, 2012 by zoeweil

There were many comments about my recent essay at Care2.com, “We can (and should) care about both people and animals.” Sadly, many of them were deeply misanthropic. I can understand how some people come to hate other humans. Given the cruelty and destruction humans too often perpetrate, it is easy to fall prey to misanthropy. This is especially true for activists who daily face atrocities in an effort to make a difference.

It is difficult to maintain one’s hope in humanity if one is constantly addressing the repercussions of the worst in humans. So for those of you who need a boost and who would like your faith in humanity restored, enjoy these photos.

And here’s a video version:

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

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We Can (and Should) Care About Both People and Animals

Posted on October 11, 2012 by zoeweil
Image courtesy of AlicePopkorn via Creative Commons.

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent essay I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from “We Can (and Should) Care About Both People and Animals”:

“In a recent interview in The Sun magazine, Joel Salatin, who is the owner of Polyface Farm and was featured in the film Food, Inc., and in Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, makes a number of comments about animals that bear deconstruction, primarily because they’ve become a straw man that undermines the goal of doing the most good and least harm to all people, animals and the environment.

Salatin is a farmer who raises animals for food. When asked whether animals should give up their lives simply for our pleasure, he replies: ‘Why think animals are more special than carrots?’ He goes on to say that he hopes that anyone who cares for animals ‘would not spend more on his or her dog or cat than on making sure hungry children in Africa got fed,’ stating that Americans spend more on vet care than Africans spend on health care. He actually calls this a litmus test of our priorities.

Why this need to disparage caring for pets? After all, there are many other things we spend money on.”

Read the complete essay.

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

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Art and Humane Education

Posted on October 8, 2012 by zoeweil
Image copyright David Revoy.

The arts are a powerful way to educate. In a previous post, I wrote about educating through drama and comedy. Today I want to say a few words about the visual arts.

IHE board member, Robert Shetterly, is perhaps the best contemporary example of an artist educating through this paintings. His Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series  offers stunning portraits of historic and current Americans who have worked to make a difference, right wrongs, and “tell the truth.”

Rob travels the U.S. bringing his paintings to schools and teaching about changemakers through their stories and through a quote from the subject that he etches into each portrait. These stories and the power of these portraits offer profound opportunities to learn about pressing issues and how to create positive change.

Donna Simons, a painter in New York, has recently been showing her powerful art that calls upon us to consider what we are consuming when we eat animals. Sue Coe’s work also explores our relationship with animals, compelling viewers to consider how we treat nonhuman animals through disturbing and thought-provoking images.

I recently came across this work by French illustrator David Revoy, bringing a social justice message home to the viewer in a way far more powerfully and quickly than an essay on inequality.

There are so many ways to utilize art in the service of changemaking, and so many ways for art educators to become humane educators, inviting their students to create such art as well.

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

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Get the Facts Right, Even When It Hurts

Posted on October 4, 2012 by zoeweil
Image courtesy of dreamsjung via Creative Commons.

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent essay I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from “Get the Facts Right Even When It Hurts”:

“I’ve been pondering the more than 400 comments from my last post at Care2.com: “Since other animals are predators, why shouldn’t we eat animals.” Some were supportive; some provided constructive feedback; some were nasty. Many went back and forth with increasing vitriol between those commenting. It was at times disappointing and discouraging, but mostly, it was very disturbing.

Too often commenters bandied about “facts” that weren’t facts at all. For example, some supporting the overall thesis of my essay said that humans are herbivores. Others arguing against the thesis of my essay said that humans require meat. Neither claim is true. Some said that science reveals that plants can suffer and feel just like animals, but there is no science to support such a claim. These false “facts” were flung about, and then argued about, with everyone able to find a website or article to support their view, but actual truth was in short supply. And truth is precious.

 I’m worried about our culture’s relationship with truth. I’m concerned that we’re not educating our children to parse the messages they receive and determine what is true and what is not. When anything can be written and spread on the Internet, then anyone can argue that they hold the truth because they read it on a website. Without the ability to distinguish opinion from fact, and without the capacity to evaluate information critically, we will be at the mercy of whomever does the best job at marketing and at saying what the majority wishes to hear.”

Read the complete essay.

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

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Be Kind: Everyone is Fighting a Great Battle

Posted on October 1, 2012 by zoeweil
Image courtesy treehouse1977
via Creative Commons.

Periodically, an essay I write elicits a lot of comments, and when that happens it’s a pretty sure bet that among the thoughtful responses will be a few comments full of vitriol. A recent essay, “Since other animals are predators, why shouldn’t we eat animals?”, was one of those. One responder wrote:

“I truly do feel that you should be free to eat poop. Please start immediately. With any luck for the rest of us in humanity, it will at the very least cut down your time on a keyboard.” 

This was mild (and at least vaguely amusing) compared to some comments I’ve received over the years. Every time I read such commentary, though, I always wonder: Who are these people who write such nasty things? Who resort to name-calling? Who are so full of hate? If I met them, would they be rude and nasty to me in person?

I doubt it.

The great majority of us treat each other civilly when we meet and interact. We are generally polite. But behind our screens and on our keyboards, such civility often eludes us. We feel free to spew our nastiest thoughts at one another. I know how it feels to want to pen my angriest, most judgmental thoughts. I have never written anything truly nasty, but I’ve been sarcastic and snide in writing. I used to make sure that I waited a few hours before sending a letter to the editor about something that made me angry or upset. Often, after calming down, I’d see that my writing wouldn’t advance my cause, that it was reactive, not productive; and I would then modify it before putting it in the mail.

But now our “letters to the editor” are instant responses in the comment sections of Internet sites. Many (most?) of us don’t even proofread our comments; don’t even read them through once before sending them out into the world to do their damage. And they do damage. They prevent real dialogue and discussion. They hamper deeper thought and reflection. They crush creative thinking and problem-solving. They create us and thems and foster hatred.

When next you read something that makes you angry, challenge yourself to respond, not react, with your very best, kindest, and most thoughtful communication skills. Imagine saying those same words if the recipient were looking you in the eyes. Use your words as a gift, not a punishment. Remember the saying: “Be kind, for everyone is fighting a great battle.”

~ Zoe

Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

Get tickets now for the October 13 NYC debut of my 1-woman show — My Ongoing Problems with Kindness: Confessions of MOGO Girl – at United Solo, the world’s largest solo theatre festival.

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