First of all, I would like to extend my sincere apologies to you in regards to my making that flippant and sarcastic remark. I let my quick temper preside over what I would hope to be my better judgement. With that said, I would like to debate this with you - not sling crap at each other....but a true debate. I think it could be interesting.
Are you are vegan DFW?
Not even close.
Honestly... because being human, being an omnivore by evolution, assumes us at least *some* power to decide what is important to us.
That is not true - being a human and having free will assumes us the power to decide. What and/or how we consume nourishment has nothing to do wiht it.
That is not the point, however. I want to agree with you that there is no disposable life... but that would mean humans too...
Of course it references human life as well. Sadly, there seems to be just about as little value placed upon human life as is placed upon animal life. It is disheartening.
and judging by the fact that the US has the largest prison population in the entire world, (52% for non-violent crimes... as in no violence against human or animal) apparently it is just fine to dispose of inconvenient humans... at least, many people feel this way.
Lets look at this. WHY is this? Maybe because as a country we have desensitized ourselves to the point of being automotons? Perhaps. My thought however, is that this is due to a lack of responsibility and commitment. Look at relationships....whether it is husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, same sex relationships or even the bond that is supposed to be between a parent and child. Too many people find it so easy to disregard these committemnts...its easy to see how they could disregard the committment that SHOULD be part of the process of deciding to take on the responsibility of caring for the life of an animal.
Dogs are given more rights in this country than many people are.
While I agree with you that many are denied much, I cannot agree wiht this statement. Go to a pound and then tell me that again.
They are given better health care, they are better protected...
I do not think so.
Either way you cook it, the circle of life is being tampered with by us.
I do agree with that. It has and is. Too many types of animals have been domesticated, and never should have. We as a people do not take decent care of what we have.
There is a story of a Buddhist monk that was so obsessed with treating all life as equal, that he stood in one place his entire life because he was afraid that even a footstep might fell an ant.
I dont have anything to say to that as I dont see the relevance (although I do understand why you chose to insert it)
Look around you, or just turn on the discovery channel... There is a natural order to all living things, but beyond that, I respect your moral position, and would never think of insulting you for it. I would expect that same respect from everyone, to be given to everyone, and in that case, yes, not you, nor I, would have the right to destroy a man's life regardless of how much we disagree with their morals.[/quote]
Yes there is a natural order to all living things, but that became irrelevant when the species was domesticated. A pet rat is NOT a Rattus Rattus. It is a domesticated animal that did not ask to BE domesticated (obviously since it IS an animal and as such is not capable of the same free will that we as humans are afforded). The circle of life ceased to factor in here when we tamed the animal and made it a pet. We have the free will to NOT purchase a pet if we dont want the lifetime (of the pet) responsibility of keeping it physically and emotionally healthy, fed, clean and so forth. However, so many ppl dont bother considering this....they just continue on purchasing animals to satisfy their own over-weaning egos and then not caring for their responsibility when it gets too hard, too expensive, too time consuming. Then there is a poor little creature (who never asked to be purchased, much less domesticated) who suffers for it. I understand that animals are not human, but please explain to me why it is okay to desensitize the self to something as pitiful as that, because Im just not seeing it.
It is not that I want to destroy a person's life, but it is a point of personal responsibility! Why SHOULDNT a person who has been found to be guilty of cruel and unusual treatment of an animal stand up and take what he/she has earned, meaning the punishment for the crime. Of COURSE they should. Again, its free will. That person has the god-given ability of CHOICE. They can CHOOSE to be kind or be cruel. A person that is cruel to an animal is twice as likely to carry that over to a human. That is just simple psychology. PERHAPS if that person were held accountable for their choices, something MAY change. Maybe not.
And again, I apologize for being so snappy in my initial posting in response to you.