Of course I knew he was wrong. Anyone who has been close to an animal, I thought way back then, would know old Gar was mistaken. In my case, it was a little black dog named Gyp who communicated with her eyes.
It wasn't the first or last time that an authority figure at church bombarded me with bullshit. But this one really got to me.
What you believe about a being's soul reflects how much you value said being. If you believe animals (or slaves, or women, or Russians...) don't have souls, it's easier to treat them badly.
I would like to think I value my fellow beings of all species.
Some people carry the value to extremes – by never eating another creature, or promoting animal rights above all other considerations. I don't go that far. While I wouldn't say that my life has intrinsically more value than any other, I also can’t deny that some life forms eat others. If you don't believe me, turn on one of the National Geographic predator documentaries.
Betty White, known for her decades long devotion to animals (oh, and something about a career in TV comedy), says that she's not interested in animal rights. Her concern is animal welfare. I think I'm with her. I want my cats well fed and comfortable. I don't think every right I have needs to be available to them. For example, what would they do with the right to vote?
I have so many food allergies, I couldn’t be a vegetarian even if I wanted to be. I'm not going to stop eating meat, but given a choice, I'll eat the animal that was ethically raised and humanely killed.
Somewhere I heard that some indigenous Americans thank the spirit of the animal before eating it.
I tried to thank a chicken after removing frozen parts from their plastic encased styrofoam container. It kind of fell short of the magnificent spiritual experience I'd envisioned.
Studies have shown that people who beat animals are more likely to act violently to other humans. I assume this means that respecting animals also increases our capacity to respect each other.
