I was eating a thing of ramen noodles in a cup--you know, the just-add-boiling-water kind (which I actually like so don't knock it)--and it occurred to me that it's really not a very honorable fate to be caught, cooked (?), desiccated, and put into a styrofoam cup with noodles.
So I'm wondering about the theological status of this. I mean, clearly we've got dominion over teeny weeny shrimp, and I'm not advocating that we go vegetarian, but is this a vessel-for-dishonor matter? Somehow it seems much better to be, I don't know, marinated and grilled over an open flame and put on little plates with lettuce and rice. I hesitate to malign any worthy and legitimate end, but I'm not impressed by the way these poor things went to their death. Maybe they're more heroic, more fulfilling of their telos, for doing a work that seems lowly and never complaining. Though if they did complain I'm not sure how we'd know it.
Are we having a "they also serve who only stand and wait" moment, or did my desiccated shrimp really and truly come to a dishonorable end?
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3 comments:
Awww... you're making me hungry. I love the big crunchy ones, complete with antennae, legs and those cute little eyes. Mmmm. Their "taste-telos" is definitely higher.
If you like shrimp cooked that way, how is it dishonorable? The shrimp fulfilled its purpose, namely bringing you nutrition and enjoyment. 'Twas an honorable fate, to be sure.
If I was a shrimp, I wouldn't want to be eaten at all, because such an event would first require my untimely death. Once dead, I don't think I would care whether I was shriveled and put into ramen noodles, organized with a number of my friends in a circular plastic tray and sold at the supermarket, or garnished and delivered up for consumption at a gourmet restaurant. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity under the sun. The river flows to its destination and returns again, etc.
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