Sunday, July 24, 2011
Pet Projection
The number of people with pets seems to be on the increase. Some of it may be economic, as children are delayed, etc. But some of it seems to this observer to be because pets increase in importance due to the fact that in this society we are disconnected from each other, and yet at the same time have a drawing human need to feel connected with something or someone, to feel less alone. Yes, people love their pets, and yes, many families have pets, but these do not seem to negate the trend.
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I think you are spot on with this. When my daughter lived in a studio apartment alone, she was desperate for some kind of pet (not allowed) in order to have "one other living thing" in her home. Isn't it a new thing in history to have us so removed from the land and animals? It seems that something deep in us is constantly trying to rectify it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there has been a trend since the modern era, and certainly since the Industrial Revolution as we become more urbanized, the trend has been more pronounced in the West, and especially in the ultra-disconnected America. But near-complete removal from nature is, with only some meaningless upper clas oddities of the past, very much a recent phenomenon, correct.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, my dad, from a Midwestern farm family, saw animals as fellow farmhands more than pets. His viewpoint was this: Cats lived in the barn to curtail the rodent population. Dogs lived out back, some helped with the herding. All of them were fed table scraps, not fancy store-bought food. Fish lived in the pond... and were dinner!
ReplyDeleteHow far we've declined as a society. More value is placed on saving the turtles and whales, than rescuing the endangered human infant. More interest and compassion is given to caring for aging dogs, than aging grandparents.