© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Human & Animal: An Ever-Changing Coexistence

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/CMS11-08-2011.mp3

"You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity."

So said Ralph Waldo Emerson who saw, even in the 19th century, the way civilization puts artificial spaces in the natural order of things. Nature is wild. Wild animals are savage. The livestock business is brutal. Pigs are sentient. All of these things are true, but we prefer to have them orbit around, flung as far into space as possible.

In Emerson's time, society -- and sub-groups within society -- made collective choices about what to know and what to see.

Getting ready for today's show -- which is about the study of man's relationship to animals -- I noticed that one of the less-documented aspects of the digital revolution is that people who want to see, for example, a Burmese python fight an alligator, can do so over and over.

Of course, those animals don't even belong on the same continent.

Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.

Tags
Colin McEnroe is a radio host, newspaper columnist, magazine writer, author, playwright, lecturer, moderator, college instructor and occasional singer. Colin can be reached at colin@ctpublic.org.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content