Dancing With the Dinosaur

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I was having a discussion with a friend recently during which I expressed that I think hookups are tacky. She was shocked by my comment; I believe "bold" was the word she used to describe it.

In our society today, people are for using. Every day students interact with professors only to get the grade they want and they spend time with people they don't even like because those people make them look popular. There are those who volunteer at a homeless shelter for the sole purpose of crafting a stellar college or job application and those who call their parents only when they need money. Newspaper headlines regularly highlight businesspeople who had no problem cheating and lying their way to a bigger paycheck, even if it meant hurting other people.

It should therefore come as no surprise that most individuals in my generation think using another person for whatever they desire, including sex, is absolutely acceptable. But what if people are more than objects to be used? Is it such a bold and insane idea to suggest that ourselves and our fellow humans are not objects at all, but rather carefully, purposefully made creations, full of intention, conscience, maybe even a soul?

If the student talked to their professor like a human being, they might find out a little about the professor's life outside of work. If the volunteer took the time to chat with the homeless shelter residents, they might get to hear some fascinating stories. But hearing about a professor's family or listening to a homeless person talk about their day would not have any material benefit to the listener and is therefore not appealing in our gimme gimme world.

Everyone, including me, uses people for personal gain from time to time, but it is not right. The Torah, known as the Old Testament to Christians, teaches that each human being is made B'tezelem Elohim, in the image of God. This idea comes from Genesis 1:26. As the lyrics to one of Rabbi Joe Black's children's songs goes, "Everybody's got a little bit of God in them!" So, if we're made in the image of God, perhaps even having a spark of God in us, why aren't we acting that way? Call me crazy, but I don't think human beings made in the image of God deserve to be used.

I told another friend about the aforementioned conversation and she said it reminded her of a song called Dancing with the Dinosaur. It's written by Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman and while I'm not Christian, I think it delivers a valuable message:

Once upon a time not so long ago in a land not so far away
Right and wrong were not quite so hard to know
And black and white were not so gray
Times have changed and now it seems
Conscience has gone the way of the dinosaur
But I believe it's still alive and well today
In the hearts of those who will stand up and say

I'm dancing with the dinosaur
Living my life with conscience and conviction
I don't want to see the truth ignored
So I've gotta keep on dancing
I've gotta keep on dancing with the dinosaur

If believing that people are not objects to be used sends me back to the Mesozoic Era, then so be it. I'm strong enough to say what I think is right, even if it is unpopular. Maybe someday our society will decide that people are not for using. In the meantime, I'll just be over here dancing with the dinosaur.