I struggle to understand the flaw in human character that has throughout history, denied others the right to freedom. Our Declaration of Independence states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This declaration should apply not only to men, but to all living things! Our U.S. Constitution goes on to declare that we “…secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves…” Liberty is the condition of being free. Still, for millennia, human beings have denied to other human beings, through slavery, genocide, and imprisonment, this God-given right. They have denied this right to domestic pets, farm animals, wildlife, and animals in zoos and circuses.
Life is a gift. All that any human being, or animal wishes for, is the freedom to live the life that they were designed to live. Sometimes, human cruelty goes far beyond the withdrawal of freedom to others and escalates into starvation and torture, as though the victim has no feelings – as if the victim’s body did not possess the same life sustaining organs as the perpetrator himself, possesses. Those who inflict punishment and torment on other species, ignorantly claim that animals have no feelings. Mice are used in laboratory experiments because their genes are most similar to human genes, yet apparently the scientists do not equate that to possessing the same sensitivities as humans. Many people will insist that animals do not have souls, or that they are not intelligent. However; I assure you that a mother duck or mother coyote, or even a mother cat knows the exact number of infants in the litter she has just given birth to. If she is missing one, she knows, and she will frantically try to locate the missing one. This is surely proof that these animals know how to count. Is this not a sign of intelligence?
It seems to be a more likely assumption that many human beings lack intelligence. They lack the intelligence of compassion and the wisdom to know right from wrong – right being the belief that we should do no harm, and wrong being the belief that only our own selfish desires should be considered. Sexual predators and pedophiles deny the young the freedom to grow into healthy, happy adults. Psychologists will say that certain individuals are incapable of feeling any sense of remorse or wrong doing, when a serial killing has been committed. They are completely unconscious, without any sense of belonging to the world. These sociopaths; however, were once innocent babies, born helpless into the world, like all human beings. What went wrong? I believe it is the lack of maternal nurturing and unconditional love that was missing in their very early childhood development. If we learn kindness at an early age, and learn to treat all living things with great respect, we instinctively acquire reverence for life. We know that denying freedom to other species, using them for laboratory experiments, exploiting them, confining them in cages, abusing, starving, and inflicting pain on them is not only selfish and ignorant – it is completely abhorrent and absolutely intolerable. The only way to halt this irreverent treatment of other life forms is to begin at home. Become an example to others – especially to children. Become a vessel through which love can pour out and free the lives that are held in bondage.
