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The One-Straw Revolution - Multiworld India

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A Village Without War and PeaceA snake seizes a frog in its mouth and slips away into the grass. Agirl screams. A brave lad bares his feelings of loathing and flings a rockat the snake. <strong>The</strong> others laugh. I turn to the boy who threw the stone:“What do you think that’s going to accomplish?”<strong>The</strong> hawk hunts the snake. <strong>The</strong> wolf attacks the hawk. A human killsthe wolf, and later succumbs to a tuberculosis virus. Bacteria breed in theremains of the human, and other animals, grasses, and trees thrive on thenutrients made available by the bacteria’s activity. Insects attack thetrees, the frog eats the insects. Animals, plants, microorganisms all arepart of the cycle of life. Maintaining a suitable balance, they live anaturally regulated existence. People may choose to view this worldeither as a model of strong consuming weak, or of co-existence andmutual benefit. Either way, it is an arbitrary interpretation which causeswind and waves, brings about disorder and confusion.Adults think the frog is deserving of pity, and feeling compassion forits death, despise the snake.This feeling may seem to be natural, just a matter of course, but isthis what it really is?<strong>One</strong> youth said, “If life is seen as a contest in which the strongconsume the weak, the face of the172

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