Consistency

1773:

Here in the media-saturated West, in the so called ‘developed’, most adults are aware of animal exploitation on our animal farms. It is essential for preserving the commercial interests of the industry that they conceal the truth about animal abuse. It’s not that the farmers are sadists, but as they struggle to maintain economic viability within a very competitive international industry, they must cut costs. To the bare bone. And that will mean reducing the already harsh conditions animals are forced to live in.

All through my formative years there was never any suggestion that keeping animals captive and killing them for food was wrong. And since they were sources of food, and pleasurable food at that, I never questioned it. In my family, in the society we lived in, there was never a strong enough base of compassion from which that sort of questioning could arise. And today, even though we know much more about conditions on animal farms, there’s still not a sufficiently strong ethical base to stir people. Almost nobody questions ‘the use of animals for human consumption’, so nothing changes. And it will never change unless some people can enlighten others to the gravity of ‘the truth’. In order to open the doors of perception, the fear factor must be addressed. As vegans, we first need to show how life is possible without resorting to using animals. The gravity of the situation outweighs convenience. 

If any of us are going to escape the brain washing we’re put through, if we can ever escape a lifetime of normalising animal-eating, then we’ll first have to re-examine our daily habits. And we’d do well to start with our attitudes and addictions. We have grown up regarding animals as not as important as humans and therefore we justify their exploitation. We’ve grown into addictive habits of using food for pleasure, and the thought of doing-without evokes uncomfortable feelings. So this is where we need to contemplate a change of attitude and challenge our addictions to discover if they are as immovable as we fear they might be. For this we’ll need a touch of altruism.

Altruism means doing things not only for ourselves but, in this case, for the sake of the animals. By focusing on them we ignite empathy. By cauterising our own empathy for the long-suffering animals, we’ve allowed ourselves to become hard hearted enough to comply with and enjoy the meat and dairy in our diets, and indeed the leather in our shoes.

When we consider vegan principles we not only see life through more compassionate eyes but realise the extent to which we are living in a carnivorous, violent society. We’re understandably afraid of leaving it behind. But this is the price we must be prepared to pay, to help shift such an entrenched attitude in our society. And if things remain as they are for a long time to come, that would mean being on the outer for a long time. As uncomfortable as that thought is, there is always hope that today’s activists will bring the majority around, and that hope is sustaining. Once empathy is ignited then the pendulum starts to swing the other way. And it’s this hope that saves us from despair. Plus empathy for the true victims in all this, for whom it’s a million times worse. For each of these individual animals amongst billions of others on death row, there is far less reason for hope.

We can work for many unrewarded years to ameliorate this discomfort, our own and theirs, by being grateful that we don’t have to suffer as much as the poor creatures. We may have been born into a violent and animal-abusing world but we do have some chance, however slender, of escaping it. The animals were born with no chance of escape whatsoever. If we can hold that thought, it may help us withstand the degradation of being part of this unholy human species.

What better thing is there for any of us to do than set a new fashion in compassion? It’s not about being ‘cool’ or even solely about being ‘vegan’, but about being consistent in our conduct, in all our daily activities. And if we aspire to consistency, we set an example, which others may or may not choose to follow.

I don’t think we’re here to enjoy the experience of simply living as free beings in a human-dominated world but to offer reasons for becoming the angels of mercy we were meant to be.