I am an activist. Am I an animal defense activist? Yes.
Am I an environmental activist? Definitely. Am I a human rights
activist? Most assuredly. Am I a peace activist? Indeed. I am in
complete opposition to all social injustice; I abhor all suffering. I
disdain the anti-ethic that has created a society that lives upon the
daily exploitation and slaughter of our animal brethren; a society that
is rapidly choking off the only life support system we have; destroying
our habitat, the earth; a society that embraces a philosophy of "might
makes right" and chooses to ignore the plight of our "weaker" brothers
and sisters--the homeless, the hungry, the elderly, the children; a
society whose economy and "strength" rely on the production and
dissemination of tools of destruction. I am an activist. My actions are
directed at eradicating the root causes of ALL injustice: humankind's
disregard for our connection with our earth, and our loss of respect for
life.
Listen! I am the voice we heard so clearly as children
until the din of society's indoctrination deafened our ears. I am the
clutching the throat and intense sorrow of all those who visit the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I am the pain and sadness within each one of
us who holds the threadlike bodies and swollen stomachs of Africa's
starving children.
I am the peace and serenity that befalls us when our
eyes, for a fleeting moment, meet those of a grazing deer. And I am the
sentiment that makes us mouth the words, "Set them free," whenever we
encounter animals imprisoned in cages.
I am these and more, and I am omnipresent within each
one of us. I draw no political lines; I erect no artificial barriers
between races, sexes, or species; I do not recognize boundaries between
issues of injustice. I am above politics, devoid of our societal
bigotries, and I embody all matters of justice. I am THE answer. I am
our physical and spiritual connection to our earth and all life.
I cry out for each one of us to recognize the
inseparable biological and ecological bonds that link all life together
as earth's family. I implore us to acknowledge that human and nonhuman
needs are complementary, not competitive, as all living beings are
indispensable threads of a living tapestry, interconnected to each other
and all of the earth's natural processes that sustain life. And I demand
action. I demand that individuals act in accordance with the reverence
they so richly deserve. I am the answer. I am the voice within your
soul.
We must act. And we must ensure that our actions are
guided by our inner voice that affirms our connection with the earth and
all of her inhabitants. We cannot continue to alleviate the injustices
imposed on an individual or segment of our society through an injustice
to another. We cannot attain a true peace through the domination or
killing of those who are perceived to be lesser or evil. We cannot
"enrich" the lives of the poor people of Central America by boosting
their economy through the destruction of their rain forests to raise and
slaughter animals for a cheaper hamburger. We must strive to consider
all life as brethren and act in accordance with our connection to the
earth we share -- to do otherwise is to betray not only our fellow
beings but ourselves as well.
I want your thoughts in affirmation of our connection to
the earth. I want your decisions to be made with an ethic of reverence
for life as your guide. And, I need your actions to create a world of
wonder, a world of justice, a world of peace bounded only by the limits
of life. I am part of a living, caring world. I embrace a boundless
ethic.
It is a life-affirming ethic in which I share a journey
with the flowers of the field, the children of the streets, and the deer
of the forest, in search of our home -- a world of peace. I am your
soul.
I am an activist.
Go on to Easter
Bunny (Poem)
Return to 19 April 2000 Issue
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