[Dialogue] Fwd: Eco-Justice Notes: "The Wombat"

[elliestock at aol.com]

>From Peter Sewell of Eco-Justice--check out the Wombat link.  This isn't new, but if you missed it the first time around, it's worth viewing...
Ellie



 
  
 
The Wombat
Copyright 2010 - Eco-Justice Ministries 


If you've never seen it, you need to watch "The Wombat". It is a brilliant and delightful piece of moral communication. 
The Wombat is a one minute long animation that spells out the basics of an eco-justice ethical perspective. The script for this short film uses just 168 words, all of them familiar to any child. (I suggest that you watch it now, before reading more.) 
With a flurry of engaging images, the four-footed narrator asserts three truths: 

Earth is our home -- cherish it and protect it. 
We have to get along with our neighbors, and learn to share. 
Everything is connected. They all depend on one another. If you ignore that, you're doomed. 

Those are foundational moral perspectives, which the wombat backs up with just enough detail -- both verbal and visual -- to be clearly realistic. In 60 seconds and three themes, the basics of a comprehensive ethical perspective are spelled out in an engaging and memorable way. 
The animation went "viral" about four years ago. In the lingo of the internet and marketing, a viral message is one that spreads itself. People love to pass it along to their friends, either because it is so much fun, or because it speaks truth. 
In 2010, when a libertarian message of individualism is getting so much press, and when a short-term appeal for jobs and cheap energy trumps the call for environmental protection, I'd love to see the Wombat go viral again. It is both fun, and true. 

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