1340, from O.Fr. compassion, from L.L. compassionem (nom. compassio) "sympathy," from compassus, pp. of compati "to feel pity," from com- "together" + pati "to suffer" (see passion ). Loan-translation of Gk. sympatheia. Phrase compassion conservatism in American political language first recorded by 1992, popularized, if not coined, by Marvin Olasky, University of Texas at Austin instructor.
Compassion conservatism which is political philosophy that stresses using traditionally conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society. But isnt that cool?? Compassion (in some sense) started at UT...very interesting. Here is the definition I am actually going to be refering to in this writing.
–noun
| 1. | a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. |
(Animals have compassion why cant we?, Google Images)When I think of compassion, I think of the way people feel for someone who is having troubles and needs help with something. Needs someone to talk to really. We throw compassionate around, like using it to say, "Oh my boyfriend is so compassionate he came to comfort me", but I don't really think of compassion that way. I think of it as a starting point of how you feel and then you should start thinking that maybe there could be something you can do about it and it turns into something. I think things like that are best if we applied them towards children. This is Spring by Hopkins:
"The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden - Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid's child, they choice and worthy the winning." (375)
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden - Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid's child, they choice and worthy the winning." (375)
I love this piece of work. It expresses how wonderful nature once was before man came around and started to destroy it. Animals that were once living the country side and were prosperous around the world and now becoming extinct and are being kept up in zoos so nothing happens to them. They have to live there lives in cages not being able to run free and do things that they once were able to do. But the line that I find interesting is the part where Hopkins is saying the sky was once blue before we clouded and soured it with our sinning and we ruined it for the "innocent mind and Mayday" of the children. And this i absolu
tely agree with. I think we have ruined society to some extent for our children and they will be the ones that will need to take over and help fix it. That is why I feel that children are the answers to what could be of this world and if we teach them now about conserving and about animal cruelty and the such then things could on get better and people will be more aware. Harriet Ritvo also believed in this when she wrote The Animal Estate and one of the chapters is called "A Measure of Compassion". In this chapter, there is something said by Elanor Frere Fenn that said, "nothing could more effectually tend to infuse benevloence than the teaching of little ones early to consider every part of nature as endured with feeling" (392). I absolutely agree with this and believe that is is necessary in every way for kids to know these things. The minds of the young are great and very understanding. And if you show them what is happening in the world and introduce them to things out of the box then they are going to hold that with them for a very long time and will carry it with them through decisions that they make.
Going back to Blake's Song of Innocence, his poem The Shepherd brings what I feel that we should all take into account when we think of animals and how they need compassion and love.
For he hears the lambs' innocent call,
And he hears the ewes' tender reply;
He is watchful while they are in peace,
For they know when their shepherd is nigh. (352)
If you sit back and think about this piece, I get this overwhelming feeling that the animals are like children to the shepherd. He is going to watch over them while they sleep and make sure that they are not hurt and the animals know this and well protected and love for their shepherd. It just makes me think how at peace animals and man could be.
(The Shepherd by Blake, Google Images)
tely agree with. I think we have ruined society to some extent for our children and they will be the ones that will need to take over and help fix it. That is why I feel that children are the answers to what could be of this world and if we teach them now about conserving and about animal cruelty and the such then things could on get better and people will be more aware. Harriet Ritvo also believed in this when she wrote The Animal Estate and one of the chapters is called "A Measure of Compassion". In this chapter, there is something said by Elanor Frere Fenn that said, "nothing could more effectually tend to infuse benevloence than the teaching of little ones early to consider every part of nature as endured with feeling" (392). I absolutely agree with this and believe that is is necessary in every way for kids to know these things. The minds of the young are great and very understanding. And if you show them what is happening in the world and introduce them to things out of the box then they are going to hold that with them for a very long time and will carry it with them through decisions that they make.
Going back to Blake's Song of Innocence, his poem The Shepherd brings what I feel that we should all take into account when we think of animals and how they need compassion and love.For he hears the lambs' innocent call,
And he hears the ewes' tender reply;
He is watchful while they are in peace,
For they know when their shepherd is nigh. (352)
If you sit back and think about this piece, I get this overwhelming feeling that the animals are like children to the shepherd. He is going to watch over them while they sleep and make sure that they are not hurt and the animals know this and well protected and love for their shepherd. It just makes me think how at peace animals and man could be.
(The Shepherd by Blake, Google Images)
