I Want to Be a Cove Guardian

So my boyfriend watched The Cove a while back--the documentary about Japanese dolphin hunters who slaughter pods of dolphins in an isolated cove near the town of Taiji--and was extremely moved. He tried to get me to watch it. I didn't want to. In fact, I kind of categorically refused.

Some people claim that Japan's whaling tradition is an ancient and honorable one, and by condemning it, the West is asserting its own specific view of right and wrong over other countries. I understand that opinion--and I certainly don't think everything Western countries believe is right or that all countries should act like the US or Western Europe. But I do think that there are certain standards all countries should adhere to as we become more enlightened and responsible as a species, things that make the world as a whole a better place--such as basic standards of human rights and environmental responsibility. For me, these kinds of practices fall under that. And I can understand wanting to preserve the ancient whaling practices of the Inuit people in Alaska, for instance; these are people who still hunt whales with kayaks and hand-thrown spears. The whales, in other words, still have a chance. Japan practices full-on commercial whaling, which happens on a much larger scale--and the whales don't have much of a chance at all.

Anyway, back to The Cove. The reason I didn't want to see it wasn't that I'm in favor of Japan's whaling and dolphin-hunting tradition. The reason is that it will give me serious nightmares. I get that way about animal cruelty--I grew up riding horses and I still have trouble watching movies where horses get hurt, even though I know it's not real. It bothers me because I know stuff like that happened in the past and happens still every day. It takes a psychic toll on me to see it. I watched a documentary on ocean life a few months ago and cried for hours over a really graphic scene depicting shark finning. Seriously, I should not be watching The Cove.

But I was reading about the Cove Guardians--a small group of people committed to stopping the dolphin hunting in Taiji by filming the slaughter and generating international pressure against it. They take volunteers. And I was thinking today about my life and all the things I've been devoted to this whole time--my creative art, my acting, my writing. All important things. But sometimes I feel like I live my life too much for myself and not enough for the world. Living for myself means I spend a lot of time thinking about me--how I come off, how I can be more successful, how I can improve this or that thing about myself. But when you're devoted to a cause like this, it isn't about you. It's about the cause and the progress you've made, and helped others to make.

I like the idea of focusing on something outside myself and my life--of having an area of my life that is not about me. In a sense, this takes a certain kind of pressure off. A lot of people get that from having kids. I think I'd rather get it from some sort of devotion to a cause I believe in. I believe in a lot of things, very passionately--but I don't volunteer. I'm not active. I've been to exactly one Occupy Wall Street protest since I moved back to town, despite following the movement avidly. This should change. It will be difficult to find the time--but worth it.