blog 1 (11-1-11)

I agree with The Laws of Manu, and I think they should be enforced today just like they were in the past. It is interesting to think about what things from our past have lasted until today, and what has completely been abolished and forgotten. These laws were separated into three categories, one being ethical dictums, another was offensive dictums, and the last one was self restriction dictums. Ethical dictums referred to offenses against the environment, but it does not just mean that there is a law against destructing the environment, but it includes a consequence if you break this law. From reading these set of rules I get the impression that the consequences are more serious and people are more afraid to break the rules than some laws and consequences that are around today. This is efficient because this way  people know if they attempt to break the rules there will be a serious punishment. The motto that I took away from these set of rules was "never harm a living creature," whether that be plants (environment), animals (organisms), or human beings. Also, in these set of rules enforced how eating meat is a serious and inexcusable crime. I would actually agree with that statement because killing millions of animals for food, especially living and innocent animals, is horrific. How would humans feel if we killed each other for food and business? That is not morally fair or acceptable and people would view other humans very different if a human did this but humans do not view other humans different when they kill and destroy animals... Another "small" thing that does not get a lot of concern and attention is the obstruction of plants in our ecosystems and environments. Us humans, being the "virus" we are step on plants and pollute them, as well as pull them out in the middle of their growing and thriving process to use for food and for leisure. I agree with all these rules that are supplied in the Laws of Manu, yet I do not strictly follow all of them, and I feel very badly about that. For another example, I disagree with homophobes and I one hundred percent accept gays and transgenders, however sometimes I feel uncomfortable around transgenders because they are so different from me. The way we treat our environment affects our bodies which affects our government, therefore all of these rules are well organized and interconnected!