Let Us Not Wallow in the Valley of Despair!
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy

FROM

Maynard S. Clark

I have a dream of a time when all of God's children have a place in the choir, and when we can all rejoice together that all personal beings are loved, all creatures, all sentient beings, for all of us feel, think, hope, and maybe someday will believe.

But let us not wallow in the valley of despair but, today, even though we and animals face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I have a dream - a dream that is deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and fulfill its ecological destiny for all lives going forward to live peacefully on this planet - from the red hills of Jordan to Beijing and Bangkok, Baghdad and Brooklyn, Buenos Aires and Brownsville.

I have a dream that somehow, somehow in part through our efforts, that our nation and our planet will be transformed into an oasis of peace, prudence, and justice. That's a big change for our species; we are not always wise - or kind - or smart.

But I have a dream today!

There, with the voices and practices of speciesism, we will one day be able to live together, cats and sheep and cows, lions and tigers and horses and humans - without killing any for food, nor destroying themselves in the process.

I have a dream... Yes, I have a dream.

I have a dream that one day, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair into hope, into a symphony of post-speciesist possibilities.

Let freedom ring for all species, from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee to every mole hill in Mississippi.

Let freedom ring for all species, from every hamlet and every village, when we feed up that day when all Gods critters have a place in the choir, and in our own ways sing together, Thank God Almighty, Free At Last.

I have a dream of a time when all of God's children have a place in the choir, and when we can all rejoice together that all personal beings are loved, all creatures, all sentient beings, for all of us feel, think, hope, and maybe someday will believe.

That day will be a new day of redefining possibilities for All Americans -- human AND nonhuman - and for all life in our planet, from now and for the future going forward.

Yes, the story goes on, the story continues, and thankfully, the story can and will improve. Yes, ALL of us have a constructive place, a good place - and even work ought not to be evil.

I have a dream - and maybe you do, too - a dream of a time when all of God's children have a place in the choir, and when we can all - all of us -rejoice together that all personal beings are loved, all creatures, all sentient beings, for all of us feel, think, hope, and maybe someday will believe.

Of course, it will take ALL our human ingenuity and grace - wherever that cones from - to change our ways - and our diets.

Yes, I share a dream - hopefully with you, and your friends and your family, with your neighbors and our coworkers, hopefully with all people everywhere - a dream of a time when all of God's children have a place in the choir, and when we can all - all of us -rejoice together that all personal beings are loved, all creatures, all sentient beings, for all of us feel, think, hope, and maybe someday will believe.

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