Original Thought - Part Two

1441: 

Edited by CJ Tointon

If we succeed in giving up eating animals (and wearing them) other attitudes will automatically fall into place.  Without the killing and violence and cruelty, we make room for other planet-saving attitudes.  But for those still locked into animal-use, the question of wasting resources remains.  Let's assume that many humans would like to lead peaceful, vegan lives.  What happens to the animals left behind when there's nothing to use them for?  (Some people think that the main purpose in an animal's life is to be useful to humans!!)  What about all the animal-farmers without any animals from which to make a living?   What about the vast tracts of land, now unsuitable for cropping, fit only for grazing (possibly made unsuitable for cropping anyway, because of previous over-grazing).  So much going to waste with the loss of

such a huge resource.  Because most of us have been brought up with the idea that the quality of life is reliant on using what the planet has to offer, the loss of major resources is a very disturbing thought.  We see it as a problem, instead of using it to springboard into original thinking. 

Once a fundamental principle has been put in place, it gives rise to original thinking.  It's what we humans can really excel at.  We have an ability to adapt to new situations, to think outside the square.  Our reluctance to think as individuals, with originality, is why the animal question stirs up so much fear.  "Where will it all end if animals are no longer there to be eaten or used?"   "What will happen if we start to recognise them as individuals?"   "Imagine the implications of giving them the same right to a life as we grant to our own species?"  The answers to these questions can only be found once we alter some of our fundamental attitudes and start to invent new ways of living and thinking.

         

Vegans see Animal Rights this way:  We humans have made war on a selection of harmless herbivorous animals, with no other reason for attacking them than our wanting to eat them!  And these days it is accepted that we don't need any of them 'dead' (or exploited while still alive) because everything they might have provided is now readily replaceable with 'cruelty-free' products.  We certainly can have no quarrel with them.  They are amongst the most peaceful beings on Earth.  They are a benign presence on this planet.  In other words, there’s no justification for using or abusing them. 

         

Cows, chickens, pigs, goats, ducks - they all feed on plants (just as we humans are capable of doing) and they're all harmless.  Because they aren't aggressive, corrupt or guilt-ridden, it's easy to appreciate them simply for their dignity and beauty.   We should admire them.  Instead, we revile them and do to them the most horrible things imaginable.  Maybe we should look deeply into our hearts to discover what drives us to this 'blood lust'! 

Humans generally cannot tolerate anything which puts them in a bad light.  Could it be that we can’t bear the idea of animals being more highly evolved than us?   We can't tolerate enlightened beings if they happen to be non-humans?  And then we have to ask ourselves if it's just too humiliating for the Great Human to climb down and admit that he's been wrong  (done wrong, thought wrong) for all these ages of time, ever since humans stepped up to the top of the species ladder?  Is it possible for us to admit our shortcomings and atone for what we've done to billions of innocent creatures down through the ages?

         

The violence-intoxicated conventionalist says NO to all of this!  Humans dominate and don't want to give up this position by admitting any wrong-doing.   And to make that perfectly clear, we must continue to make 'war on the weak', make their imprisoned living conditions a misery, execute them and then eat them!  We need that ritual to prop up a belief in ourselves and the hierarchical position we've carved out within the ecosystem.

By doing so much damage to animals (and to the planet itself) we've done great damage to ourselves.  Once we STOP USING animals, we'll begin to see them differently.  We'll be able to study their natures and indeed see reasons for emulating them.   For the present, however, the least we can do is set up safe havens for those who desperately need our help.