Every animal on this beautiful planet is made up of cells. Cells that consist of DNA; mitochondria; a nucleus; and many other organelles that creates the basis of life. If every animal whether it be a driver ant to a human being is made up of the same basic structure, why is it that we find it so easy to put ourselves as humans in front of our cell brothers. We as humans claim we are the head of the animal kingdom. We invented tools, fire, and religion. We also hunted extraordinary beings to extinction, we continue to pollute this world uncontrollably, and we find it extremely easy to center the world on ourselves. I am nothing more than this: I have eaten a hamburger and not thought twice about the cow that died for my snack; I have thrown an M-80 down an ant mound; and I constantly take for granted the simplest things. I am just like everyone else; except I see these things and I try my hardest to neglect them. We as the “higher” species kill and take as we want. We do not think for a second about our actions and we see no need for a change.
The earliest men were hunters, being omnivorous; we needed a supply of meat along with vegetables and fruit. The men would walk out into the vast fields of green scouting for a heard of caribou while the women would gather the fresh greens they have growing in their garden. This was a time of equilibrium. Humans were one with nature, and we were an even part of the ecosystem cycle. We killed to survive, and we were grateful for what we had. Now and days, everyone above the poverty line wants what they don’t have and when they have it, its useless to them. It seems to be our nature these days. We are given so much on a silver platter that we, never take into account how lucky we all are. We kill on mass scales, we destroy and ruin anything we touch, and we thirst for more, spreading the disease like wildfire.
I try to look back to the day it all started, when everyone stopped caring and only knew what they wanted. It could just be the nature of Homo sapiens, but materialism is our worst mistake. When we see something we like we want it. When we get it we begin to loose interest. Therefore there is a never ending chain of supply and demand. We want the clothes of our idols, the toys of our friends, and the lover of our best friend. The saddest part is that most of the time, we don’t even take into consideration of what we are doing and who we are hurting in the process. We don’t think about the kids in the sweat shops in China, nor the relationship you are about to tarnish. You think about that thing, obsess over it, and wrap your greedy self around it and constrict till all you have left is a quick meal.
Our nature as humans evolves everyday with what we wear to how we feel. We love, we hate, we cry. So why don’t people see dogs this way; and if they do; why don’t they see bees this way, or snakes, or even mosquitoes this way. Every creature on this planet feels the same way we feel. Everything sees what we see. We are too busy caring about what we want to ever stop and not only put you in another’s shoes but into a whole separate body. To see what is like to not know if your offspring is going to live, to not know when your next meal is going to be, and to know that your life can be taken from you at any moment. Human beings are put on a pedestal because we have “conquered,” and, “taken,” and, “ruined.” We conquer like every animal conquers. We take like every animal takes, but we ruin like no other animal. To me that is nothing to be put on a pedestal.
