What the Hell is Wrong with Humans?
Another personal tragedy has brought up the question yet again: what the hell is wrong with humans?
Back story: I have NEVER been 100% convinced that people are the best things on this planet. As a species we are cruel, petty, concerned with ourselves above all else and seemingly convinced that we are masters of all we survey.
Which is complete, utter bullshit.
People, humanity, kill each other without regard for the sanctity of life. Not just human life mind you, but all life. We devalue anything that is not "us" or "me". God (or whatever name you give the creative force) created all life on this planet (or allowed it to come into being if you will). All life is sacred. Not just human life. It is beyond arrogant to think otherwise in my opinion. God's creations include the smallest microbe on up to the most complex creatures. And that dear reader includes our companion animals. Dogs AND cats.
Do no harm does not apply only to people.
The Buddhists have a point: all life is sacred. Now, I don't believe that the spider crawling across my ceiling is a soul reincarnated into the spider, perhaps even an ancestor or such. But I do think that it serves little purpose to kill the thing when I could catch it and put it outside where it could actually find food.
Conclusion: people are arrogant, self-centered jerks.
Factoid: serial killers get their start by killing small, defenseless animals. Serial killers are people.
The tragic fact: my cat was murdered.
Murdered? Yes. Her neck was broken. By a human being. Not by a car, because she wasn't found along the road. By a person. Although in reality a person would have been driving a car had it been a car accident. This does not seem like an accident. A broken neck is NOT an accident.
How? WHY? does a person - a creation of God - kill an animal like this? This isn't for food. This isn't for "sport" so they can mount antlers over the mantle in the man cave. This is senseless and thus murder.
This cat had a collar she was wearing. She was still wearing it when I found her body. Yes, you read that right; I found her body. More than a week after she'd gone missing I found her. Just inside a fence of a backyard that bordered the alley she liked to hunt birds in. Somewhat under a bush, visible only because the leaves had begun to drop away. Her belly had been preyed upon but this is normal in the course of death. I understand that. The insects were doing their job. I understand that. It is a natural process. What is UNNATURAL is the reason for her death - there was NO REASON. She was not even a year old. She was learning to trust people, to climb up into a lap and purr and feel safe and warm. She was loved by her "family" and she senselessly killed.
What is wrong with the human race?
Genesis tells us God gave Adam stewardship over the world and its inhabitants (the animals) - stewardship means you care for, not destroy. I don't think God meant for humanity to wantonly kill. He meant for us to treat our fellow creatures with respect at least if not love. Too humanely kill for our food if necessary. That's what keeping kosher is all about as I understand it - not just cleanliness but being humane.
I failed her. I was supposed to keep her safe. St Francis brought her to me and I failed her. I let her out in the morning because I was slowly transitioning her to an inside cat life. She was inside a little longer every day. I let her out and some horrible excuse for a human being killed her, Why? For no good reason. For no reason at all.
No one should have to find their "baby" like that. No one. I can't get the image of her out of my head. I have buried her in her favorite place under her favorite tree even though it is illegal to do that in the city I live in.
God did not give me the ability to have human children. He did give me a big heart and the ability for animals to trust me. St. Francis has led me to rescue quite a few animals (cats) over the years and he brought Sweeetie to me. And I failed her. She's dead because of a horrible, sick person and my naive belief that she'd be all right if I let her out during the day and brought her in at night. She was killed during the day. Not in the dead of night.
What is wrong with the human race? I do not know. I know there are horrible, sick people out there and I know my baby is dead. Horribly dead. And while I may eventually forgive the monster who did this because I will after a lot of prayer, I will NEVER forgive myself.
Back story: I have NEVER been 100% convinced that people are the best things on this planet. As a species we are cruel, petty, concerned with ourselves above all else and seemingly convinced that we are masters of all we survey.
Which is complete, utter bullshit.
People, humanity, kill each other without regard for the sanctity of life. Not just human life mind you, but all life. We devalue anything that is not "us" or "me". God (or whatever name you give the creative force) created all life on this planet (or allowed it to come into being if you will). All life is sacred. Not just human life. It is beyond arrogant to think otherwise in my opinion. God's creations include the smallest microbe on up to the most complex creatures. And that dear reader includes our companion animals. Dogs AND cats.
Do no harm does not apply only to people.
The Buddhists have a point: all life is sacred. Now, I don't believe that the spider crawling across my ceiling is a soul reincarnated into the spider, perhaps even an ancestor or such. But I do think that it serves little purpose to kill the thing when I could catch it and put it outside where it could actually find food.
Conclusion: people are arrogant, self-centered jerks.
Factoid: serial killers get their start by killing small, defenseless animals. Serial killers are people.
The tragic fact: my cat was murdered.
Murdered? Yes. Her neck was broken. By a human being. Not by a car, because she wasn't found along the road. By a person. Although in reality a person would have been driving a car had it been a car accident. This does not seem like an accident. A broken neck is NOT an accident.
How? WHY? does a person - a creation of God - kill an animal like this? This isn't for food. This isn't for "sport" so they can mount antlers over the mantle in the man cave. This is senseless and thus murder.
This cat had a collar she was wearing. She was still wearing it when I found her body. Yes, you read that right; I found her body. More than a week after she'd gone missing I found her. Just inside a fence of a backyard that bordered the alley she liked to hunt birds in. Somewhat under a bush, visible only because the leaves had begun to drop away. Her belly had been preyed upon but this is normal in the course of death. I understand that. The insects were doing their job. I understand that. It is a natural process. What is UNNATURAL is the reason for her death - there was NO REASON. She was not even a year old. She was learning to trust people, to climb up into a lap and purr and feel safe and warm. She was loved by her "family" and she senselessly killed.
What is wrong with the human race?
Genesis tells us God gave Adam stewardship over the world and its inhabitants (the animals) - stewardship means you care for, not destroy. I don't think God meant for humanity to wantonly kill. He meant for us to treat our fellow creatures with respect at least if not love. Too humanely kill for our food if necessary. That's what keeping kosher is all about as I understand it - not just cleanliness but being humane.
I failed her. I was supposed to keep her safe. St Francis brought her to me and I failed her. I let her out in the morning because I was slowly transitioning her to an inside cat life. She was inside a little longer every day. I let her out and some horrible excuse for a human being killed her, Why? For no good reason. For no reason at all.
No one should have to find their "baby" like that. No one. I can't get the image of her out of my head. I have buried her in her favorite place under her favorite tree even though it is illegal to do that in the city I live in.
God did not give me the ability to have human children. He did give me a big heart and the ability for animals to trust me. St. Francis has led me to rescue quite a few animals (cats) over the years and he brought Sweeetie to me. And I failed her. She's dead because of a horrible, sick person and my naive belief that she'd be all right if I let her out during the day and brought her in at night. She was killed during the day. Not in the dead of night.
What is wrong with the human race? I do not know. I know there are horrible, sick people out there and I know my baby is dead. Horribly dead. And while I may eventually forgive the monster who did this because I will after a lot of prayer, I will NEVER forgive myself.
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