Obstinate to the core

1213: 

A vegan’s conscience is outraged at the very idea of slavery and particularly the obstinacy of thought that we can’t survive unless we enslave animals.  It’s reminiscent of the ending of human slavery in USA when they predicted inevitable collapse of the cotton and sugar industries – but the industries survived and went on to thrive, and soon enough the idea of enslaving humans became repugnant and then illegal.  It could be the same regarding animal slavery.

It’s obvious to vegans that we can survive and thrive without eating animals or using by-products or co-products like leather.  We can also be happy and healthy without being clothed or entertained or medicated at the expense of animals.  But this is not necessarily obvious to most people.  It isn’t even taken seriously.  And that’s our great challenge.  Once we drop our animal dependency (and not until) we can then address the other major problems still facing the world, such as war, certain diseases, and much of the pollution and hunger crises facing the world.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy though is obstinacy.  It seems that we have serious but solvable problems being held back by a collective reluctance to deal with the matter of animal slavery.  Instead of cooperating with Nature we exploit it.  We have only ever known ourselves as masters of animals.  And we seem to have got away with it so far.  It’s rather the same with the danger climate change, where humans have been similarly exploitative of the planet’s resources - the thief has been located but hasn’t quite been caught yet.

An intelligent society is a compassionate society.  We can’t grow whilst human slavery exists; most civilised societies have learnt that lesson.  In the same way, the only chance humanity has of surviving and progressing is by giving up some our old ways, concerning dependency on animals.  Until we are prepared to give up bacon breakfasts, leather shoes, aquariums and many other goods and services provided by (stolen at the expense of) animals, were stuck where we are, facing all sorts of ethical and environmental problems.  The lot must go if we want to move on.