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| Europe |
| The Silent Scream of the Asparagus |
| 2008-05-04 |
| by Wesley J. Smith You just knew it was coming: At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated. I guess we'll be seeing more "Keep Off The Grass" signs. A few years ago the Swiss added to their national constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms." No one knew exactly what it meant, so they asked the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology to figure it out. The resulting report, "The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants," is enough to short circuit the brain. A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily." There go the Vegans. Now we have nothing to eat. Soylent Green, anyone? The committee offered this illustration: A farmer mows his field (apparently an acceptable action, perhaps because the hay is intended to feed the farmer's herd--the report doesn't say). But then, while walking home, he casually "decapitates" some wildflowers with his scythe. The panel decries this act as immoral, though its members can't agree why. The report states, opaquely: Because WE say so! Neener-neener! At this point it remains unclear whether this action is condemned because it expresses a particular moral stance of the farmer toward other organisms or because something bad is being done to the flowers themselves. What is clear, however, is that Switzerland's enshrining of "plant dignity" is a symptom of a cultural disease that has infected Western civilization, causing us to lose the ability to think critically and distinguish serious from frivolous ethical concerns. It also reflects the triumph of a radical anthropomorphism that views elements of the natural world as morally equivalent to people. Why is this happening? Our accelerating rejection of the Judeo-Christian world view, which upholds the unique dignity and moral worth of human beings, is driving us crazy. Once we knocked our species off its pedestal, it was only logical that we would come to see fauna and flora as entitled to rights. The Rise of Arugala! Bean-brains unite! The intellectual elites were the first to accept the notion of "species-ism," which condemns as invidious discrimination treating people differently from animals simply because they are human beings. Then ethical criteria were needed for assigning moral worth to individuals, be they human, animal, or now vegetable. Ahhh, the "Intellectual Elites". I new they had a lot in common with vegetables, like bean sprouts for brains. I wonder if this is because of diet? You know, like the plants are slowly taking over their pea-brains?Is it the Pod People? Rising to the task, leading bioethicists argue that for a human, value comes from possessing sufficient cognitive abilities to be deemed a "person." This excludes the unborn, the newborn, and those with significant cognitive impairments, who, personhood theorists believe, do not possess the right to life or bodily integrity. This thinking has led to the advocacy in prestigious medical and bioethical journals of using profoundly brain impaired patients in medical experimentation or as sources of organs. This is a very dangerous road to follow. This is also why abortion is so readily accepted now. Euthanasia of "non-persons" is the next step. More at the link. |
| Posted by:Deacon Blues |
| #12 People of course. Its amazing how the same people who are so in-your-face about protecting animals (and now plants) don't have any problem at all about the unborn. Just saying.... |
| Posted by: Bertie Unavimble7376 2008-05-04 23:59 |
| #11 So what will the 'Keep Off the Grass" signs be made of? Can't use wood or paper, since pine trees have feelings too. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2008-05-04 23:45 |
| #10 Say a prayer to the wheat god before you harvest the field. Oh, wait, there's no wheat god. Well, plants have rights, we think. Animals either eat other creatures, or they die. It's that simple. If you object, go die quietly somewhere. The rest is an evolving argument about needless waste and reduction of suffering when you do the necessary thing. At what point do these actions become criminal? Is is possible to commit a crime terminating a plant, as it is when terminating an animal? Should horse racing be banned to avoid unpleasant, possibly criminal, eventualities? PETA thinks so. An abberation or the wave of the future? If I have a nice 24 inch maple, is it criminal to burn it instead of making furniture? What if it's a black walnut? What if it's blocking my view? My neighbor's view? My solar panel? Maybe a license is needed every time you terminate something; that's the modern way. Rocks have rights, too. After all, they've been around a long time. Is it ethical to destroy a fossil? A Ford Pinto? A Ferrari Barchetta? |
| Posted by: KBK 2008-05-04 21:42 |
| #9 no haz the Google? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-05-04 21:24 |
| #8 "Soylent Green is people." I never got that. What does it mean? |
| Posted by: Mr Stupid 2008-05-04 21:15 |
| #7 "The trees were screaming." --Ed Chigliak, Northern Exposure episode "Dateline: Cicely" |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-05-04 20:39 |
| #6 The GLOBAL COLLECTIVE = SPECIALTY FARM riseth. "Decapitates some wildflowers" > CRAB/ELEPHANT GRASS GANG DELINQUENTS - "HAHA - WILFLOWERS NEED IMPLANTS" {Simpsons]? HUMAN-WILDFLOWER RAPE? FARK.com > I Gut Nuthin'. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-05-04 19:54 |
| #5 Live your teachings. (So starve already) or shut up. Either way, the concept is disastrous. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-05-04 17:52 |
| #4 You'll need a permit to murder the grass, and then buy those chlorophyll offset credits at the algore booth? Who's running this planet anyway? |
| Posted by: Muggsy Gling 2008-05-04 16:48 |
| #3 Pagan fatwas are the fastest growing Swiss industry. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-05-04 16:44 |
| #2 These people are sufficiently mentally ill that no truly humane society should allow them to vote. Does that sound harsh? Tough. This mental illness that devalues and deconstructs humanity's place on this planet, if allowed to go unchecked much further, will be the death of our species, which would probably make the po-mo leftist crowd happy. We should take all of the animal rights crazies, the philosophers who say that a newborn isn't fully sentient, and the "environmentalists" who say that humans should not thrive, and do the right thing. Have the balls to mark them as being insane, and deny them plebiscite. The consequences of not doing so could mean the end of humanity. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2008-05-04 15:48 |
| #1 The Lemming Gene: No wonder the Caliphate Islamics are so sure of themselves.. |
| Posted by: RD 2008-05-04 14:58 |