Persecuting Men of Vision
by Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
A book burning was held recently. Welcome
to the new United States of Amerika, a nation in which Homeland Security
means protecting children against subversive ideas such as the promotion
of compassion to animals. Such as the vegetarian lifestyle.
A vegan art teacher dared to distribute
books by John Robbins to his students. Those books were joyously burned
at a barbecue in which cow parts were also roasted by members of a
suburban community. What was the teacher's crime?
Let me quote Mrs. Lovett in the new
Johnny Depp movie, Sweeney Todd, brilliantly directed by Tim Burton.
When asked what crime a barber was prosecuted for and transported away
for a life of hard labor in a ship's galley, she responds:
"His crime? Foolishness."
In real-life 21st century terms, Dave
Warwak's middle school crime was to inspire his art students (just as
Peter Max once did) that compassion to animals and people is a blessing
and not a crime.
Dave's website tells the story of his
tormenting experience and firing by the school board:
http://www.inslide.com
Vegan radio has an interesting
perspective on Dave's experiences. You can hear his archived show (#47):
http://veganradio.com/archive.php
Dave Warwak took the burdens of the world
upon his own shoulders. Like many men of wisdom and courage throughout
history who have been honored by those who are touched by greatness,
Dave has been persecuted for society's sins.
I cannot do anything better than to
compare Dave's continuing struggle to Galileo's.
In 1632, Galileo turned his attention to
a new frontier, and in doing so, angered religious leaders. By placing
lenses inside of a long tube, Galileo's primitive telescope allowed him
to discover four moons revolving around the planet Jupiter. His
invention was destroyed and Galileo tortured and imprisoned. Man's laws
gave this fanatic and visionary two choices: recant his previous
discovery or die. Galileo had no choice but to exist in a world in which
his truth became a threat to the men of his time. Dispelling myths has
always been dangerous to one's health. Sixty years after Galileo's
trial, Salem Massachusetts persecuted, tortured, and burned women to
death after accusing them of witchcraft. Three hundred and fifteen years
later, Dave faces similar condemnation by his meat-eating peers.
Dave refuses to betray his values or his
mission. Welcome this new vegan visionary into a movement badly in need
of heroes. Dave's personal email:
dave@inslide.com
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