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Kill one Save one


Today I noticed the strange phenomenon of sacrificing one life for the other. Our house is mired by pigeons also known as flying rats (considered a pest). Despite consistent threats, they squat at any place they like and are stubborn to not leave their chosen place. They are now a part of the house and on the days the house stays closed when we travel, they show who the real boss is. They lay their dumps at their favorite places, taking a herculean effort to clean them.

My wife is fond of plants. She has many varieties and loves to nurture them. Pigeons have a love-hate relationship with plants. The soil in the pots gives them fodder but they also push plants for their land rights. Whenever a pigeon needs to lay its eggs, the flowerpots are the best place for them. they feel that the place is most secure and they can easily expand their family at that spot. 

A similar event has happened many times at my place. However this time it was a little different. Usually, pigeons choose an empty pot containing just the soil. This time the pigeon chose a pot that had a live plant. We tried to ward it off but failed due to humanitarian grounds. Once an egg is laid and you come to realize that it is there, it becomes impossible to not let it survive. This emotion is deeply rooted in us, something that comes into existence cannot be done away with at least consciously. 

We let the pigeon procreate there. It did its job well; within 2 weeks, the chicks were out, and the mother was nurturing them. We suddenly noticed that the plant had died in the pot. Rather, I failed to notice that the pot was never watered in 20 days. watering it would mean that the eggs would need to be taken away, which the pigeon cannot do. Also, pigeons have a biological instinct to abandon their eggs if they are moved from their original place. Though there is no scientific backing, we have noticed it ourselves and it is also common knowledge. 

My wife took a conscious choice to let the plant die for the eggs to survive. It may a hard call for her. It is a similar scenario as discussed in many studies where you have a conscious decision to make between choosing one life and killing others to save that life. A series of lectures on YouTube titled Justice in Harvard University presents a perfect example of the conundrum one faces in these situations. It is a situation that needs an ethical intervention and moral dilemmas that need an answer.

I think my wife made the right choice by letting the chicks live and the plant die. She also did wrong by killing one on purpose through in action with the hope that the other life would thrive. She may have also gone wrong by killing a positive connotation and letting a declared pest live. She of course is not an expert to take a call in this dilemma. She just took a call to let a thing live that appeared cute to her. Had the pest been a cockroach, she would have killed it much before immediately. Had the eggs been laid in one of her favorite plants, she would have placed the eggs in an empty pot. She took the call at her convenience.

We too take decisions as per convenience and later rationalize the thought behind them. Average humans have no philosophical masters to take an analyzed decision in such circumstances. We live by day-to-day calls that need to be made and not long shots that need to be placed after deliberations.  sometimes it is better to decide soon than get paralysis due to analysis.

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