Unaware or Just Don’t Care?

The action of caring is as multilayered and levelled as is its philosophy.  It’s a whole subject of its own, a human thing that has spawned religious texts and self help books of all manner.  An historical vault of vitriolic patter that has catered for all of humanities hopes fears and insatiable tastes.  Yet it would appear that after lifetimes of concentrated effort, a generalized mode of care has realistically only been satisfying to a few, if any.  Care and caring are as individual in imposition, as each human being is uniquely individual in their very own right and their head space of private reality.  Caring is as fluid in opinion as the passing years are as fickle in memory and what was seen as caring yesterday is scoffed at cynically tomorrow.

Many if not most visitors on Bali see the Bali Street Dog as being uncared for and are quick to judge the people of Bali for the dreadful condition of the Islands rare and unique indigenous canine.  It can be quite a jarring and confusing juxtaposition given what is generally espoused marketed and widely presented on a daily basis.  The side by side contrast of beautiful and ugly in paradise can quite rightly upset those who perceive and accept wholeheartedly a belief system that is religiously based and supposedly practised on holistic care.

Cruelty is an accepted norm in most countries and that’s why there are laws to address such human folly.  But even legislation against heinous acts perpetrated on the hairy, furry and feathered is not enough to dissuade individuals and groups from continuing to do what they do.  There are no laws against cruelty on Bali, such restraints are completely unnecessary in paradise, for God’s sake.

But the God’s have really nothing to do with human behaviour when it comes to acts against flesh and blood and bone; those things are only perpetrated in the name of such deities.  The really big stuff of the Gods are reserved for earthquake, tsunami and insurance claims.  No matter the belief or blather, religion or rhetoric, dogma or diatribe, underneath it all and stripped away resides the ability for all beings in human form to not care in ways that can only stem from a deep unawareness of the feelings of others.

Not all people on Bali are cruel to their iconic dog but the cultural difference between humans does not alleviate the truth that the sameness of unawareness and uncaring about other beings and things is a universal reality.    

                 

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