Do No Harm – I Am Cecil

Do No Harm – I Am Cecil

The Legacy Of Cecil

Do No Harm – I Am Cecil – One of my favourite sayings is a profoundly beautiful quote by author – Arundhati Roy. She so wisely said – “Another world is not only possible – she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing”. On the night he was targeted I can see Cecil the Lion padding softly and quietly through his familiar places – confident and unaware – sensing the breeze – watching the stars. His family was close by – Jericho guarding their lioness pride – his sleepy cubs warm and safe.

He had no way of knowing that Death stood close by shrouded in black. Evil was planning a deceitful and cowardly act that would shatter an animal family and have repercussions that would travel around the world with lightening speed. The arrow sliced through the night and found its mark. Cecil would try desperately for 40 hours to distance himself from danger – but wounded and weakened – his fate was to be inexorably linked to an insignificant, greedy and soulless man.

Cecil died where he had lived on the African plains of Hwange National Park – a protected reserve for wildlife in Zimbabwe. He was already a rock star with tourists – in death he has become a legend. His fierce lion spirit will never be far from his roots – and to reference Ms. Roy’s quote above – “On a quiet night – you will hear him breathing”. Cecil will always be an icon – his killer a nobody.

I think that Cecil is a game changer – the lion who tipped over the cauldron of the putrid trophy hunting industry and exposed its ugly contents for all to see. These people are elitist rich men and women whose perverted lust for killing cannot be satiated even when they know they are slaughtering endangered animals. They have killed with impunity for generations under the guise of ‘conservation and serving the locals’ in the nearby communities in which they slaughter innocent animals. These claims are blatant lies.

I published another blog post recently – A Rallying Cry – I Am Cecil – in which I wrote that I Am Cecil needs to become a recognized global message – “If there was ever a global call for change – this is it. A short, profound message – “I Am Cecil”. It has the power to represent every act of injustice being perpetrated against innocent people, sentient beings and our planet – anywhere in the world. Make no mistake – global governments and big corporations want citizens – numb, dumb, pre-occupied, afraid, self-centred, apathetic, compliant, worried and susceptible to propaganda, political lies and a lack of accountability. They do not want – and are afraid of – a ‘thinking and united’ global population. In repressive regimes – people are arrested, jailed, tortured, intimidated into silence and murdered”.

We are blessed to enjoy freedom of speech in the West and we have an obligation to use it to counter evil. 

There is no better way to unite people than to find their common ground and give them hope for change.

Throughout time humans have made the choice to be the most dangerous, selfish, cruel and power driven creatures on Earth. Historically we learn nothing from our repeated mistakes: plundering, racial struggles, genocide, mass killings and wars. People have surrendered their individual and collective power in return for often-broken political promises and insincere pledges of peace, security and national pride.

We sit by as governments are bought and sold by the wealthy few and we do not question when the media is tightly controlled  or spun in whatever direction benefits the ruling elite. 

Our current world order of politics, religion, greed, poverty, lack of education and health care, unemployment, corruption and fear is not working. Millions of dis-advantaged people, billions of animals and our planet are victimized by power, political lobbying, money and self-interest. 

It is therefore incredible that Cecil – the murdered lion – poached in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, Africa has become a lightening rod for global concern. This killing has enabled caring people to express their outrage and to talk about the need for global social change and responsibility.

Never under-estimate the power of a collective of people who have become conscious personally and then globally to call for change. Awakened people start to make demands for change, a new moral compass and values that support, rather than denigrate or destroy their fellow humans, animals and the Earth. 

Do No Harm – I Am Cecil

We have an opportunity to be part of a movement for social change. With simple tenets that are not nationally, culturally or religiously specific – any interested person can make a difference and contribute to a better world. If we chose to live with concern for others and to honour the following beliefs – the would be forever altered and you would be part of an incredible transformation.

1)   Do no harm.

2)   Have respect and reverence for all living beings.

3)   Seek to live in peace but never be silent in the presence of injustice.

4)   Be kind, compassionate and generous. 

5)   Do something nice for someone else every day.

6)   Be honest, ethical and accountable for your own behaviour.

7)   Establish your personal values and align them with your purpose in life.

8)   Defend persecuted people, animals and our planet. Be willing to change yourself.

9)   Be willing to work with other people and be tolerant of their differences.

10) Look for all the things that unite us and search for solutions to the things that divide us.

11)  Celebrate every small victory whenever and wherever it occurs.

12) Believe that strong voices and awakened hearts contribute to significant change.

Stand Up – Get Involved – Use Your Life For Good

Do No Harm – I Am Cecil

And in answer to the hunting lobby and the killers who call themselves ‘trophy hunters’ – who say that animal rights activists (greenies) are unjustly attacking Cecil’s killer with despicable comments and cruel rhetoric: I would like to remind you that we are not carrying around weapons of destruction with us. We are NOT the ones with guns, bows and knives brutally slaughtering, skinning and beheading the world’s endangered animals – so our names can be highlighted in the pages of self-serving record books. That ignoble task is in the hands of SCI, DSC and your ilk. The cruelty, violence, tearing apart of animal families and the destruction of nature are all in your court – the aside to your collective ignorance, arrogance and entitled greed. You are the ones who should be hanging your heads in shame.