The Cageman

1372: 

Here’s a re-definition of altruism - things we do voluntarily but which we do because it’s difficult not to do them, and ultimately because it gives us pleasure.  Perhaps it’s relative altruism?  I remember my parents playing with their first grandchild and just loving it, even though they were exhausted by her.  It seems they wanted to be exhausted in that way.

         

Does 'balanced altruism' sounds better?  We’re using whatever energy we have, to find a really satisfying balance between selfish and selfless - our actions benefitting our self as well as others. It’s not done for the brownie points or for enlightenment, just for the fun of it, although primarily it aims at making fun for others.  If there’s no fun there’s no altruism.

         

A less self-righteous type of altruism keeps just one eye on one’s self; it restores energy back to the giver-out, relative to what’s being put out.  In this way the energy is self perpetuating - indeed expanding not expending.  And if we risk our precious energy on uncertain outcomes, it’s important to keep it interesting and original, so that it becomes part of our own creativity.  It's part of  ‘creating the reality’ we want, without necessarily seeing it become that reality.

         

Having good intentions or seriously attempting something, if we’ve done our best, the end-result will justify the energy outlay.  If it then noticeably works, our altruistic act builds confidence in our instincts.  It then becomes a ‘certainty-of-instinct’, which is a central building block for next time.  Our own energy supply is precious - too useful to squander.  But trusting our own instincts lets us risk our energy on future uncertainties.  It fosters experimentation and trialling.

Having said all that as a prelude, we come to the grim nature of things today.  We come to ‘The Cageman’. He makes money out of building cages to imprison animals.  His instrument (which immobilises the animal to conserve energy) maximises the cheapness of the animal's useful end-product.  This cheapness is attractive to animal-product consumers, and blinds them to the horrors of the caged-animal's life.  By withdrawing our support from ‘the cageman’, we contribute towards putting him out of business.  But this isn't just about Animal Rights politics but core values associated with altruism.

         

There are two sides to every story.  Once people go vegan, the animal-farmer (as well as the cageman) loses his or her means of making a living.  However, the farmers have a role to play in our society, so we must keep a place in our heart for them - but encourage them to make their living another way, by NOT farming animals.  However, let it be said that alternative money-making ventures are few and far between in the country, which is why farmers make use of animals to make their income.  If there were other ways of making a living in rural areas, animal farming would be less attractive to any but sadists.  And if there were no more animal farmers then we’d have to end our habit of using animals’ bodies for food and clothing and entertainment.  We’d use more ethical products instead.

Altruism provides us with an instinct for finding alternative ways.