Why Do We Prioritize Our Battles?

A few days ago, I posted on the topic of global warming. A few people took the time to express their views on the subject, and I would like to encourage others to do the same. Among those commenting was a fellow blogger with the handle of Island Cowboy. In his comment, IC included a link to an article housing an argument that provides a counterbalance to the liberal position. I am grateful to him for this info, and also for enabling me to stumble onto this statement:

Herein lies the moral danger behind global warming hysteria. Each day, 20,000 people in the world die of waterborne diseases. Half a billion people go hungry. A child is orphaned by AIDS every seven seconds. This does not have to happen. We allow it while fretting about "saving the planet." What is wrong with us that we downplay this human misery before our eyes and focus on events that will probably not happen even a hundred years hence? We know that the greatest cause of environmental degradation is poverty; on this, we can and must act. -Noel Sheppard

The rhetoric is strong to be sure, anytime we start throwing around words like morality and hysteria, but look past that lingo and what we see are the roots of a very intriguing question. Should we be focusing on single issues? Or should we be taking a more comprehensive approach?

My wheels first started turning on this subject yesterday, when in response to an article posted by fellow blogger Queeniecarly regarding the killing of seals, someone commented that maybe we should be focusing on humans that are being killed, and the inhumanity of that. Now, aside from the similarity in sentiment between the two sample retorts, I would like to connect into something that QC said in response: "I don't think that there is any outrage that is better or more compassionate than another."

I could not agree more. It seems that we get so wrapped up with our singular battle(s), or means of "fighting the good fight," that we begin to believe our cause, is the cause, to champion. When in actuality, there are so many issues to be addressed, so many areas in which we could improve. For me, blogging has become a way to speak on a wide variety of issues ranging from global to personal, and I believe the same thing to be true for all you bloggers out there! I understand the temptation, the desire, to weigh life on a scale. We are conditioned to do it. We spend our lives prioritizing, so why wouldn't that spill over into all aspects thereof?

Quite honestly, I don't even know where to begin rationalizing and intuiting an absolute and universal form of morality. We all have our own code of ethics that we follow (hopefully), and we all need to do what we feel is best. But one thing is for certain, the fact that we are here, now, blogging about the real issues, sharing candid discussion, comparing notes, commenting on each other's sites... this is a good thing. This is a step in the direction of caring, and caring will ultimately result in change.

So, to anyone who reads this, thank you for being you, and keep on blogging!

Tags: AIDS, Blogging, Ethics, Global Warming, Human Misery, Hunger, Making a Difference, Morality, Noel Sheppard, Poverty, Seal Hunts