Let Us Now Kill All The Dogs
For the uninitiated among you, Mark Morford is a wonderfully irreverent, wickedly humorous and uncommonly clever guy who writes a column for the online version of the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com. He certainly embraces the refreshingly open, wacky and inclusive vibe that you come to recognize if you have ever spent any time living in San Francisco.
sigh I miss it so much.
Tonight I read his most recent column and it was one of the most thought-provoking things I've read in a while. Ostensibly about China's horrifically brutal killing of thousands of dogs to stave off a rabies epidemic, it reveals itself to be a beautifully crafted question about which lives are okay to take and which deaths should be cause for our horror and righteous indignation.
We know this much: There appears to be a line somewhere. We all seem to sense it, though no one can quite put a finger on it. We know this line speaks to us as a supposedly enlightened species, as the creatures with the most advanced brains and (presumably) most nimble and sophisticated souls.But if we're honest, it makes us all a little uneasy, a little uncomfortable as the line often seems to demarcate not how enlightened we are but how far we truly seem to be from any sort of true evolution or advancement of spirit. Because so far, the best we as a species seem to have come up with is this: Do not kill innocent things in broad daylight with large sticks.
The rest is, to say the least, still more than a little murky.
Posted by Angela-Eloise at 11:06 PM
Comments
That is quite thought-provoking!
When my dog had cancer, the ultimate choice came down to me as to whether he should be euthanized or not. Even as I think about it now, it makes me heartsick. If there was one overwhelming thought that I had about the whole experience it was that a life or death choice for another creature should not be in my hands. It is a responsibility that I was not prepared for - heck, I don't think one can ever be prepared for it.
And yet, when I look back at the pictures of his tumor I realize that he was truly suffering. Should I have waited until he died on his own? Or was it a blessing to let him die before the suffering became unbearable?
I hope that I never have to make that decision again! My heart broke that day.
Posted by: Mary | August 14, 2006 7:39 PM