Guns and Religion

People pray and sing hymns for the murdered children from December 14th. It's sad and also ironic that two of America's mightiest idols are god and guns.

We need to look to ourselves for answers. We're adults. We have no parent in the sky.
In any case, what good is religion when it doesn’t stand for an all-encompassing compassion, the most basic of ethical values? Faith certainly doesn't spare our innocents from harm.

And it’s time to stop defending gun ownership. How is murder of the unarmed and unsuspecting ever a sport, let alone a right? Our biggest obstacles to having a kinder, safer world are the serial killers in our forests. The ugly truth about guns is only discussed in relation to our own safety, and only when our own are killed. 

If we want our children to grow up to be good and decent people, or to grow up at all, we need to eradicate guns and and the 'sport' of killing from our culture.

Walk, Don't Run

People don't always realize that when they run or bike with their dogs alongside, even young and/or healthy dogs are at risk for heart attacks. Dogs will try to keep up with you at all costs, even if their lungs or heart are telling them to stop. You can slow down or stop when you're out of breath, or feel weak. They won't stop, and they can't tell you of their distress. It's also not as fun for them to run without being able to stop to visit or play with other dogs on the trail, or just to sniff stuff along the path.

Poem #1

I really loved life though I did feel the anguish,
of sentient beings who sadly still languish,
mankind, people say, but I’m not so sure,
for our actions toward animals are too far from pure,
we take all we want with no thought to their needs,
to live and to thrive, free from exploitive deeds

the pain all around could have paralyzed me
but instead it ensured that I couldn’t help see,
a voice for the mute was still missing, still needed,
that I could give mine to be heard, to be heeded,
could find answers and cures where it seemed there were none,
though at times I felt sure it would never be done

it's not in my nature to rest or sit tight
so I always felt sure that I had to set right,
a world too replete with vile, venomous factions
with all of our arrogant, merciless actions,
determined to keep up our cruelty, our greed,
never seeing how unjust that the bound are not freed

I know now that I was more tired than I thought,
for if I could have I would have kept on, would have sought
to finish the job, to make people kind,
so sad that in fact so many stay blind
to the ugly mean truth that our species abuses,
that the power we wield means that everyone loses

the point of it all I still do not know,
but when it’s our time, we all have to go,
I did all I could to redirect might,
it’s time for all people to speak and to fight,
I now see no vitriol, I see no more blight
finally for me it’s all out of sight

Celebrate Don't Desecrate

We cut down the trees that have been growing for five to ten years, drape them in cheap tinsel and baubles, and then throw them in the gutter to rot when we're done with Xmas. Why not decorate the trees outdoors? They're just as beautiful to behold and aren't destroyed afterward.

Dog Sex

Why do people react so strongly against their dog humping or being humped by another dog? We've got it backward. We breed them for profit, adding countless dogs to the streets, shelters and death row, but when a dog who is spayed or neutered wants to get physical for their own reasons, we flip out. As long as they cannot procreate, and both parties are interested, what's the problem? If you're embarrassed by it, cover your delicate eyes. Dogs have little or no autonomy in their own lives as it is. Let them express this most natural urge!

Let Them Fly For *&%^ Sake

Does it even need to be said that birds are meant to fly? And to feel the wind, mate, nest, and eat when they choose? Keeping birds as pets means cages/jails and wing-clipping, in effect, no semblance of a natural life, just a sad existence as our room decorations or conversation-pieces.

Even worse is when people wear a bird on their shoulder like exotic jewelry, essentially as a talking piece to gain attention in public. The bird's wings are clipped, of course, to prevent them from flying off.

It may not be against the law to buy and sell animals, but it should be. We have no moral right to "own" another being. The best we can do is to care for those creatures we've already domesticated with respect for their needs, and put an end to breeding and selling them.

Get Off Their Backs

What is sport? Ideally, it's voluntary, fair and equally enjoyed by all parties right? Jumping on a horse's back, forcing a metal bit into his mouth which the horse continually tries to expel, directing his every move by yanking his head left or right like a puppet, and sticking him back in the stall like a car in the garage when done with him is not sport. Horses like to be around other horses, to trot, graze and to court, none of which they can do while stuck in a stall. Of course they enjoy the chance to finally get out and run after being stuck in a small space all day, but they don't need a bossy tyrant on their back for that.