blog 3 (11-3-11)

Extended/ expanded notes/ ideas from questions in class...

There are laws of modern society that are comparable to the Laws of Manu. There are also things that we do in our modern society that conflict with the spirit of the Laws of Manu. Some similar things are that many people are vegetarians and in the Laws of Manu it is illegal to eat meat. Today it is illegal to litter and throw garbage on the ground, and in the Laws of Manu they enforce how it is forbidden to harm the environment. Another way that we conserve the environment and organisms just like they did in the Laws of Manu is by only hunting and fishing strictly during certain seasons. However we use tons of gas, we unnecessarily kill animals, and we kill plants regularly which is causing pollution and extinction which is not something that is positively enforced in the Laws of Manu. The Laws of Manu prevented the spread of plagues to a great extent. Lots of disease is food-born and spread through meat and a polluted environment. Disease spreads through meat easily because of the way it is killed, and then the way it is handled, processed, and manufactured after that. When there are strict laws and an abundance of organic food, more health is present. The Laws of Manu projected hygienic living and prevented the spread of plagues. There are distinct connections between disease and the need for balance between humans and their environment. Us humans are the ones screwing and hurting the environment and in return we are the ones who get the diseases. The environment goes bad and then we are harmed, so when humans do something, there is a consequence placed on us in return. It is like one big cycle where we do something negative and get a negative outcome as well; a double negative does not make a positive, especially when humans the environment work so closely together. The way in which people responded to the Black Plague only made things worse. The doctors treatment of patients has improved because of the knowledge, technological advancements, and social skills we have gained up to this day. Also the containing of sewage, trash, and disease containing rats and animals has gotten a lot more organized and clean. When people complain and cause chaos during a viral and rapidly spreading disease, their train of thought becomes distorted. Just like those victims of the holocaust have seen experienced such trauma, that their ability to make decisions and just the way they live their lives is much more different than that of an "ordinary citizen." Those individuals  become less able and less thoughtful, therefor it made the situation worse. Today we trust doctors more and we have so much technology that we are not as frantic and as worried when a disease breaks out.