The biggest proponents of animal rights must be the meat eaters, the dairy consumers. The vegans check out of that system, we don't. Compassion is a human trait, an aspect of every societal tribe.
Samantha took a breath, steadied herself and then spoke, "It's okay to be enthusiastic about veganism and animal rights, I am too. It's good to care about the oceans and the fish who swim and live in the brine. I'm more than aware of the issues regarding dolphins and tuna. Yet there are some who cannot live without eating meat and fish, who cannot tolerate the processed foods that so often contain gluten, lactose or fructose. So as we speak of these food issues, let us remember to always nuance our words to show kindness to those who cannot walk this path. We can all work for better animal rights and ocean health no matter what we need to eat."
Morals aren't morals if you bend them to suit yourself, yet there is a need to be realistic. We animal rights can't depend upon how tasty they are considered to be, or based on their utility to humans. So let's start moving in the right direction with certainty and pride, toward a day when our food needs can be met cleanly and with good conscience. Because the right to liberty, to socialise and lead a natural life is God given to all; so it's up to us to make a society where that can happen.
Polly listened to the verse but all the while her head was shaking left to right, not obviously, but simply a reflection of her inner rejection of the words. She wasn't like a stroppy child, refusing to listen, she was analyzing them before ejecting them from her stony eyes. Later she sat under the spreading oak to wait for the bus, taking the temporary relief of the dappled shade before the stifling heat to come. Ben slid down the gnarled bark, falling a little quickly, his t-shirt pushed right up to his shoulder blades. He rubbed his grazed skin ruefully. "What's up, Pol Pol?"
"Go away, Ben."
"No, what's up? You've got a scowl that could take out Putin."
Polly fixed him in her glare and he countered it with a puppy dog look that never failed. "We have 'dominion' over the animals in the same way parents have 'dominion' over their children. We are supposed to be kind, loving, responsible... but what do we do? Exploit them for profit, build concentration camps for them to suffer in... then go to church on a Sunday? Bull. If they could understand what we really do to them we'd be the monsters of their nightmares."
Ben let out a low sigh. "Pol Pol..."
"Don't call me that, you're three months older!"
"Polly, they don't understand though, do they?" Polly drew her arms even tighter across her chest and turned her head away, fixing her eyes on the brow of the hill.
"They have emotions Ben, they feel pain and fear. Cows have best friends, they can be afraid and cry. Pigs are smarter than dogs. Sheep have the same intelligence level as a 'slow monkey.' I'm telling you now, Ben, if God's up there looking down he's gonna be pretty pissed at the way we treat other sentient species. This isn't 'survival of the fittest' anymore, we have choices."
"I know Pol Pol, but what are you going to do? Challenge the Rev to an arm wrestle and take the pulpit? Haven't you got a math exam to prep for? I know I do."
Polly dropped her eyes to the sparse yellowing grass..
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