1058. 

Ed:CJ

The Cageman

Here’s a redefinition of altruism - Something we do because we can see how useful it is for others, ultimately bringing pleasure to ourselves.  My elderly parents loved playing with their first great-grandchild even though they were exhausted by her.  They wanted to be exhausted in that way.

We use whatever energy we have to balance the selfish with the selfless.  Our action benefits ourselves as well as others.  But it’s not done for brownie points or for any more enlightened reason than for the fun of it.  If there’s no fun or benefit, there’s no altruism.

Altruism restores energy relative to what is put out.  It produces an energy that self perpetuates, expanding energy rather than expending it.  Having good intentions helps to justify the energy outlay.  If an altruistic act can be allowed to work, it builds confidence.  It strengthens our instinct to act with less self-interest. If it works, we’re less likely next time, to hesitate when risking our energy on an uncertainty.

On the face of it, altruism doesn’t make any sense.  Animal Activists need to function altruistically, seemingly pouring their energy into a bottomless pit.  Our reason for working so hard for animal victims is that they are so up against it.  We are hard at work, even though the odds are heavily stacked against our succeeding on their behalf.  We continually put altruism to the test and it’s really only the strengthening effect from this attitude that ensures we don’t fall into despair at being up against such huge forces.

The single most powerful force is the Animal Industry itself.  It has huge financial resources.  It operates within the law and is strengthened by the support of approximately seven billion consumers.  This gives it the shamelessness to introduce "the cage".  Today, the cage makes it all possible, ensuring animals are completely under human control.  The entertainment department of the Industry keeps the exotic animal in a cage in a zoo.  The piggeries incarcerate the sow in an 'iron maiden'.  But perhaps the most notorious cage is reserved for the egg laying hen.  She languishes there, caged for life, the autonomic biological functioning of her body producing one-egg-per-day.  Even though the obscenity of caging doesn’t seem to occur to most people, it is the useful symbol for marking the depths of depravity the Industry is willing to go to and what Animal Liberationists are up against.

This instrument (the cage) when used on animal farms to immobilise the animal, conserves energy and therefore reduces the cost of the 'end product'.  The low price of the egg for instance, makes it very attractive to the consumer.

Our objective, as Vegans, is to encourage others to follow our lead and withdraw support from  'The Cageman'.  Our objective is to put him out of business!  To achieve this result we need to plan for the long term.  Work hard against the 'cage mentality'.  Encourage the boycotting of animal products and hang in there until we achieve animal liberation.   For that we need to draw heavily on our own inner sense of altruism.

Ed: CJ