Stewardship

Posted By on June 29, 2004 at 1:16 pm

This abominable act is one of the most utterly foul and despicable things I’ve read about in quite a while. Read it, and be angry.

Why is it so foul? They’re only animals, you say.

Because there is no possible excuse for such behavior. Nothing could conceivably justify such cruelty. It is inhumane, and inhuman.

Let’s get something straight right up front here: I’m not about to join PETA, nor am I going to splash paint on some matron’s fur coat. I do believe that if there’s a choice between saving a human life and that of an animal, the human wins. I eat meat daily. I wear leather. Contrary to PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk’s vile assertion, a rat is not a pig is not a dog is not a boy.

Nevertheless, I believe that we, as individuals, have particular responsibilities towards those over whom [or over which] we have stewardship. If you don’t bother to get your dog spayed and she has puppies, those puppies are your responsibility, just as if you sire or bear a child, the child is your responsibility. Not mine. Not society’s. Yours.

Being a participant in adult society is almost entirely a function of the ability to take responsibility. The rights and privileges we have as adult humans are contingent upon that ability. I must take responsibility for myself and my actions – other adults, and maybe even the law, will hold me to account. If I voluntarily take responsibility for someone or something else, I am bound to it; I cannot then simply walk away from that charge.

To deliberately betray a responsibility towards those in your charge – be they children, handicapped relatives, elderly parents, or even animals – is to make yourself less than a full adult human. They are essentially helpless, and if you don’t want that responsibility, it’s too late to merely disclaim it after the fact. If the responsibility is too much to bear, the adult thing to do is to look for an alternative – a different caregiver for your parent, an adoptive parent for your child, a new owner for your animal. You don’t just abandon them… or worse.

To shirk your responsibility, either by your action or inaction, particularly if it leads to harm, makes you inferior to those in your charge. As such, you should never be entrusted with adult responsibilities, nor enjoy the rights and privileges that come with the adult ability to take responsibility.

You have betrayed your own humanity. You are fit company only for brutes.

Such company can usually be found in prison.

(via Ian S.)

Comments

5 Responses to “Stewardship”

  1. Val Prieto says:

    You know, I sat down and tried to actually describe what I saw, but I just couldn’t do it. It turned my stomach and filled me with rage.

  2. You Have Betrayed Your Own Humanity

    Go read this (warning, the linked post is about cruelty to animals and it will upset you), and then go…

  3. Brian B says:

    I’m going to refrain from commenting on this one, I’m afraid the language I’m thinking would get me banned from any site rated cleaner than R.

  4. russemerson says:

    You may have noticed, Brian, that I have removed the PG rating from the blog layout.

    But keep in mind – I have pre-teen nieces and nephew who might read anything here.

  5. Brian B says:

    Russ,
    I will refrain out of respect for the young’uns. Suffice it to say, my immediate reaction was to question the lineage of the individual who did this, as well as to allude to their sexual proclivities, and to their status before the Judgement throne. I thwen went on to suggest severasl possible fates for them, none of which are appropriate for a Christian like myself to wish upon anyone.

    I am, like you, a carnivore. But I also believe in minimizing the suffering of any animal killed of necessity, and am adamantly opposed to the killing of any animal for sport or convenience. It’s the way I was raised in rural Oregon — you kill to eat, or to protect you and yours, and you kill quickly.

    This, this is filth. This is evil, pure and undiluted. There’s no good reason to kill anythingthis way, and very few good reasons to lill a kitten in any way, for God’s Holy Sake!

    I own a small dog, and I would defend it as I would a human member of the family. This broke my heart.