"To one whose mind is free, there is something even more
intolerable in the suffering of animals than in the suffering of humans.
For with the latter it is at least admitted that suffering is evil and
that the person who causes it is a criminal. But thousands of animals
are uselessly butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. If any
person were to refer to it, they would be thought ridiculous. And that
is the unpardonable crime. That alone is the justification of all that
humans may suffer. It cries vengeance upon all the human race. If God
exists and tolerates it, it cries vengeance upon God."
-Romain Rolland, Nobel Laureate
I.
Humans are animals. Like others, we have evolved with qualities that are
specific to our species. The human animal, by its own accord, has been
granted the characteristic of reason. By definition, this word is
interchangeable with others such as: sound judgment, common sense,
intellect, logic, understanding, insight, perception, and
rationalization.
II.
Human beings are moral and powerful, however, we practice these morals
and use these powers in utterly wrong places. We have created this
material world, so why should it not be our duty to salvage it as well,
as the supposed intelligent beings that we are? We have elevated our
species in the system of status, so high that we fail to remember that
we are animals as well. As the most powerful animals, we must take on
the highest responsibility to the earth and beings around us.
The main reason why I chose to give up consuming and
purchasing animal products is, of course, because I believe in peace.
The practice of inflicting pain and torture among animals numbs human
beings to the effects and realities of violence. Non-violence begins in
the willingness to understand and be compassionate toward "lower"
creatures and their ability to comprehend pain just as the human animal
can. In accepting atrocity on such a large scale, an innate acceptance
of violence is created and equality and peace are not possible on any
level thereafter.
In an adverse world, differentiation between beings will
only work against us. It must be understood that all creatures feel pain
on their own scale. Are we a part of the food chain? As humans we have
proudly decided that our separation from "animals" lies in our ability
to reason and make civilized decisions. Here lies yet another incentive
to give up the barbaric ways of our stature. If we are to label
ourselves "reasonable" and "civilized" we must grasp an acute awareness
of respect, compassion, self-discipline and equality. Because we eat
animals not for survival's sake, nor for health reasons, but out of pure
greed and ignorance, we are indeed more self-centered, arrogant, and
barbaric than any fellow creature. We must practice being dutiful to
less powerful beings as it is in our greater power to do so. We have the
ability to live healthily on non-animal products. We have the ability to
salvage creatures. We allow ourselves to take in dogs and cats as pets
and then put forth the audacity of eating meat in front of them.
Becoming vegan has cleared my mind of what I did not
know existed in me. I have begun to see meat for what it truly is,
something that is impossible to do if one does not open their conscience
to reality. By boycotting factory farms I have refused to pay for the
senseless murder that takes place there. American farms of this day and
age are not wholesome. They are alarmingly similar to Hitler's
concentration camps, but the victims there are not human. I know that by
myself I will never make a large scale difference. But I will not
support something that I know, in every portion of my heart, is wrong. I
will not degrade myself by sinking into ignorance. My wish for the
progress of this cause is merely for others to realize the truths that
have been so conveniently blanketed for the sake of spoiling ourselves
with the taste of meat. If we allow ourselves to briefly contemplate the
way we would feel if we lived our lives only to be the tools of torture,
reproduction, and murder, then we could perhaps forget our cravings and
give back what we have taken. We are hidden from the genocidal acts of
the farm animal world. It is the reason we are able to consume beautiful
creatures. But if you have ever heard the blood wrenching cries of a
non-human animal in distress, then you would surely notice the striking
similarity between those cries and the cries of a helpless human baby.
More savage and cruel than any other species, the human
animal has embarked upon the ultimate genocide. How far will we trek
beyond decency? When will we fall upon consciousness? Upon selflessness?
If we are to ever live peacefully with ourselves and with the living
creatures and earth around us, we must erase the tale we have created to
soothe our minds. We must come to grips with our own shortcomings before
we are able to diminish the violence and pain that we support so
willingly, so unknowingly. We must fully saturate ourselves with the
fact that every being is indeed sentient, just as we are.
"The search for (non-violence) has to be both external
and internal. We seek to ignore this crucial search because the
sacrifices it demands are evolutionary. It means moving away from greed,
selfishness, possessiveness and dominance to love, compassion,
understanding, and respect."
-Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi,
in his essay Challenges and Choices.
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Important Song In The World
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