Sometimes one needs to address violations of Life which if unaddressed, signal a tacit endorsement of the abuse and cruelty inflicted upon living beings. And history teaches us time and time again that silence condones horrific actions.
The chemical genocide committed against Syrian children is one recent example; and it was utterly necessary to expose this atrocity, condemn it and take the violators to task. It's unclear whether the latter has yet occurred.
The holocausts in the 20th Century against Jews, Cambodians and Rwandans - in the millions - were exposed, but too little too late. The world did not reel against such catastrophic actions in time to save lives. Those stains will never be stamped out of history - and if there is such a thing as redemption to such acts, it is in ensuring that they NEVER occur again! But that requires the need to keep our sensitivities and antennas high; and our Hearts wide open.
It is not only human life that must be protected and safeguarded from cruelty and abuse. It is animal life - indeed, it is Life across the board.
When do we as humans get that ALL life is sacred? All life is intelligent. All life is feeling. All sentient lives are members of the Family of Life - all beings are intricate vital parts of the Web of Life. All Life is a manifestation of Creation. All Life is ONE.
Recently, two photos circulated on Facebook that brought tears and sadness to my eyes. The first was a picture of a tender little baby doe lying alongside the body of her just hunted-down mother. The second was of a wealthy family posing in front of a dead elephant they had just shot on safari in Africa. They were laughing and smiling behind their "trophy".
These images are true. They are evidences of the capacity of people to treat animals with contempt and cruelty - and what is worse, having fun in the process. Both images speak to the cruelty of hunting for fun. An abomination in the extreme.
Then there are images that few of us want to see. One is a photo I recently saw of little lambs, marked on their bodies for slaughter, desperately trying to climb over a fence separating them from their mothers, who in turn are clamoring to reunite with their babies, with futility.
And there is the image of a little calf, walking live over churning blades cutting off its hooves, prior to execution. As gruesome an image as I've ever seen. Or the image of a pig, its side pierced and in utter agony, lying on its belly, trying vainly to stand up, and crying bitterly as it gets carried away to slaughter on a conveyor belt.
When I go to supermarket, and see the outcomes of these violations of Life, wrapped in packages in the meat section, I wonder how many of the consumers of those animals comprehend the pain and agony those animals endured to wind up on their dining room tables?
How many of those consumers understand the PAIN they are ingesting into THEIR systems? And how many of us get the relationship between that pain and the pain we as humans have the capacity to inflict on the world - towards other humans and towards animals?
And it's not just farm animals, as cruel and tragic as are their fates. There are also the shelter animals the wonderful unconditionally loving and intelligent dogs and cats who add so much meaning to our lives in so many homes. Millions of them - many of them healthy and adoptable - are killed each year in the so-called shelters across America. Murdered may be a better word. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. So many of these wonderful creatures' lives can be saved, with better leadership committed to no-kill, and more creative and intense marketing communications reaching the communities in which they're sheltered. (See my Huffington Post article, "Saving Our Best Friends").
Yet another tragedy we inflict upon animals is the trapping of the great "killer" whales and dolphins - highly intelligent beings - brought against their wills to places like Sea World - for the entertainment of humans - and confined into small spaces that suppress their natural energies and need for freedom of movement, causing them great psychological suffering and harm. This has to stop!
There needs to be a Revolution in this country and around the world. A Revolution of the Heart, bursting out of our own awareness and consciousness, that reveals to us the preciousness of life - ALL life - human and animal. That invokes the Love that does reside within our Hearts and emanates from our Creator.
Without this sensitivity and love, our future is bleak. But with a heightened commitment to the love of Life, there is hope for humanity and the world. There is redemption.
Mike Schwager's blog is at EnrichOurWorld (dot) net. He is also a publicist, media coach and writer (mediamavens (dot) com; and TVtraining (dot) tv). Email Mike at: moschwager@aol (dot) com.