But, as I thought more about it, my feelings became less clear. On a personal level, killing a sentient creature is wrong. That’s not confusing for me. But on a public level, can I hold the same position?
It would be easy to say that Santeria is evil and shouldn’t be allowed. But if we start attacking religions because we think their practices are immoral, where do we stop? I think that’s a slippery slope best not started down.
So I guess the issue comes back to where it does so often, freedom doesn’t just apply to things you like. Not always an easy lesson but an important one.
I just heard Farrah Fawcett has passed away. I, along with pretty every other male in my generation had the iconic poster on the wall of my bedroom.
It feels a little odd to see the sex symbols of my youth begin to die off. It was one thing when Bob Hope, George Burns and Frank Sinatra went, they were old! I suppose it’s just another symptom of time moving on and our approaching mortality.
Good bye Farrah, one seemingly ten-year old boy will miss you.
I don’t know about anyone else out there but I’m always having people send me pictures of a penguin mother adopting a giraffe baby or something. Well, I’ve got one now that tops everything.
A young girl in Argentina had a baby. Panicking over this, she left the child in a field. Doesn’t look too good right now does it? But wait, enter man’s best friend. A dog heard the child crying and carried the baby back to where she had her own puppies. The dog’s owner heard the crying and found the child and notified the authorities. The mother (human that is) came forward shortly thereafter.
This study comes to us via the BBC Wildlife magazine. Over of half of British children were unable to identify common animals and plants. I don’t doubt that a similar study, updated for American flora and fauna, would fare as badly.
One obvious aspect of all this is that children need to be sent out into the outdoors to play more often. I’d be rich if I had a nickel for every time my mother or one of my friend’s mothers told us to, “get out of the house and go play somewhere else.”
But, I also see a tendency for the wild world to preserved without any human influence. That’s fine and wonderful in many circumstances but not in all. I enjoyed, and still do for that matter, the chance to see chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits and robins out doing what comes naturally. No, they aren’t lions, tigers and bears oh my, but they are real wildlife and deserve to be treated as such.
We lose an awful lot when all we see of wildlife is a documentary on the TV and our closest contact with an animal is the plastic wrapped styrofoam tray in the supermarket. These creatures have real feelings and needs and we are diminished if we fail to recognize them.
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