I had a birthday last week. And I read somewhere that since the year I was born, the world’s population has trebled. That’s 63 years, folks.
In 1804 there were 1 billion people on earth.
There are now 6.65 billion.
Hmmm.
And I have nothing whatever to say about the photo below, taken by my husband in L.A.
I dunno… In a world where millions of people don’t have enough food for thermselves, never mind their children, I find this a little… sad.
Yeah, me too. Plus, I want to know why dogs need chairs…
That picture seems to symbolise the excesses of our Western culture, a kind of revelling in our material wealth. As Patty points out, the “bottom billion” are still out there without enough to eat.
It also reminds me that a peculiar consequence of our culture is that pets are child substitutes in the lives of many couples. While it’s weird, in our over-populated world maybe it’s not so bad.
How sad. A cat and dog live with me and I wouldn’t be without them but that is plainly ridiculous.
Humanising pets is a sad indictment on a culture of growing excess.
Ther have been comments about the similarities between the current state of the USA and the high point of ancient Rome before the fall.
What really gets me, is not the doggy treats or cafes, but what we have done to the dogs themselves, the Peke is a very good example where its nose is now so squished it can’t breathe. German Shepherd with back legs so angled they can barely walk, etc. etc. Just been watching the US dog show in NY. It just disgusts me what has happened to some of these animal.
Yes, it is an excess, and shows up an imblance in our world. At least, though, it isn’t maltreating animals as well.
I think Jo has the right of it – breeding animals into disease and ill health – just to justify a perverse human need to have a particular look in one’s pet – is horrendous. Seen those Persian cats with their faces pushed in? They look obscene and they can’t breathe properly. Yuk.