There ought to be a holiday for nonhuman animals. I know there’s a
Groundhog Day; but that’s really a day when people use a groundhog in
trying to predict the weather. Maybe we should have a day set aside
for recognizing how dependent humans are on the “lesser” animals; a
day of thanksgiving to thank the Creator for our other fellow
earthlings.
Unfortunately, our annual Thanksgiving Day, as well as every other
holiday that I can think of, brings out the insensitivity and arrogance
of humans. We humans talk about loving our “pets” and other animals; but
except for an enlightened few who dare to admit the truth and change
their ways, it’s just talk and “business as usual.”
Even Christmas – with all the rhetoric about Jesus having been born
in a manger surrounded by farmed animals – is marred by the
insensitivity of animal-product consumption and gift-giving. And to add
insult to injury, there appears to be an increase in the number of
Christmas pageants that use live animals.
Easter, which is coming up in April, is another holiday that, when
you stop to think about it, is centered on widespread animal abuse.
Thousands of abused pigs have their miserable lives ended so that ham
can be served in a pretense of honoring Jesus and His Resurrection! Eggs
from chickens held in concentration camps that defy description or
crowded in so-called “free-range” sites (what a scam!) are dyed with
cheerful colors! And then there are the bunnies bred and sold like so
many expendable toys.
There is no end to this world’s evil that lies just beneath a thin
veneer of self-delusional whitewash.
