Introspecting Interconnections
All life is interconnected! The way life operates is through a system of transfer of energy through almost all organisms on the planet. This transfer of energy is what we call the food chain or food web. The destruction of any single part of this chain or system poses a serious threat to the entire system itself, a system of which we are a part. It is therefore beyond doubt that we all as living organisms are interconnected. We humans have through our acts endangered this connection we have with other organisms. Endangered animals are an issue for the global community to address and solve at the earliest. Endangered Animals also, therefore, form a part of the UN 2030 SDG Goals as SDG 15. Introspecting is the way to question our beliefs and for us to find the greater truth. Introspecting about interconnections is important for us to understand our faults and then take steps to correct them.
Orion square is an initiative of Omysha Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on nurturing conscious Global Citizens. Orion Square has promoted the VONG movement, which is about bolstering the voice of the new generation to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices by the global community. The VONG Movement help in building a deeper understanding of global social issues amongst the new generation and enables them to influence the attitudes of society through this understanding. They also give opportunities to influence government policies and global initiatives to accelerate the adoption of sustainability to protect humanity from the catastrophic consequences created by their greed and ignorance.
The VONG movement had conducted a symposium on the topic ‘INTROSPECTING INTERCONNECTIONS’. The session involved a series of short videos which were played for the audience and were followed by a round of discussion on the content and underlying meaning of the video.
Through this article, we aim to document and elucidate the proceedings of the event and reach a much larger audience. Through this article, we build on our aim of spreading awareness and enkindling young minds toward the pertinent issues of our times. The audience was given a set of pre-event questions to answer and to get their creative and cognitive juices flowing. The questions were as follows:
- What is evolution?
- “Humans too are animals”. Comment
- Is speciesism justified? What are the manifestations of it in our everyday living?
- Is there a connection between ecological biodiversity and human existence? Explain your answer.
The first video played was that of a starfish walking on the beach. (https://youtu.be/Lbg-tQ6FJgQ ). This was followed by a discussion on the video and its contents. The video depicted the concept of speciesism in action and the prejudice that we as humans depict while dealing with other organisms. It showed people’s reaction to a starfish and let’s say for example a mosquito. This video depicted the ways humans deal with different organisms around them
The second video revolved around the concept of Evolution and how life evolved from single-celled organisms to gigantic blue whales and humans. (https://youtu.be/2W5hOJaFjxU ). Simply defined evolution is the change in hereditary characteristics of organisms over multiple generations. Evolution is not something that happens during the lifetime of an organism but is a process which spans multiple generations.
The video showed a graphic representation of this change taking place over millions of years. Humans or Homo Sapiens which are the dominant species of today came to being in the most primitive form only about 3.8 million years ago while the last dinosaur died roughly 65 million years ago. So, humans did not live anywhere close to when the dinosaurs did, although that would have been something. Mainstream religions around the world do not agree with the theory of evolution as it contradicts their view about the beginning of life. Their reaction is more or less similar to the time when Galileo discovered that the Earth revolves around the sun and not vice–versa. This is the primary reason why many people still consider Evolution to be a theory, even though irrefutable proof exists in its support.
The next video which was played revolved around the concept of Keystone Species (https://youtu.be/JGcIp4YEKrc ). We understand using the analogy of keystone stones in construction how certain species play a more central and important role than others in our ecosystem and how harm to these species can eventually lead down to the breakdown of the entire ecosystem of an area.
The last video played revolved around the concept of Speciesm and the misconceptions it carries. (https://youtu.be/rqDeaXWN_bI ). Specism means discriminating between different species based on only their species’ membership. It also explained the deep-rooted connection between human psychology and speciesism.
Therefore, we see how all life on the planet is interconnected and it is our responsibility to take care of this ecosystem, not for anyone else but our survival.
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