Spring has sprung and summer is chugging its way through the calendar year. The many species of birds have raised their brood and some will raise more than one this season. The bird feeders have been a constant form of entertainment. Not only for myself, but even my husband and Runtly, the ever so entertaining Jack Russell Terrier, enjoy them.
The last few days, there has been a constant tweeting around the feeders. It starts in the morning and does not stop until dusk. It is a high pitched tweet and tends to be hard to ignore. After some investigation, the source of the ruckus belonged to one lone bird...a young female cardinal.
This young bird has followed her father around for days screaming "Feed me! Feed me!". When he flies off, she is in hot pursuit and her constant shrill can be heard even in the distance. This male cardinal should have grey feathers by now, but he does not. He is patient and shows her the same thing over and over again. The feeder. There it is, eat. Or, here are some small insects, learn how to catch them. Watch, as I eat the seeds from the dogwood tree.
Recently, in the news, there was a story about five teenagers who stood and watched a person, who was screaming for help, drown. Not only did they watch, they videoed the event, laughed and made fun of the person. They never offered help, called for help, or told anyone about it. The way it was discovered is because they posted their video on a social media network.
As I read about this story, I wasn't sure what bothered me the most. The story itself, or the many comments that said the teens did nothing wrong. We could all sit around and talk about the things they could have done, but that will not change the outcome. But, it makes me wonder just how they became so callous, so insensitive, to watching another human being die.
Yes, it could have something to do with all the violence they have been exposed to through TV and video games, but I think we all know children who have spent many an hour watching and playing who would have tried to do something to help, at least that is my hope and opinion.
Could it be the parents, or lack of parenting? It brings me back to the cardinal. The male cardinal stayed diligent to the rules by which his very survival is made possible. It is necessary to teach the young how to feed themselves, how to take care of themselves in order for their species to continue. Perhaps humans need to do the same.
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