De-Natured

Western Man has come to believe that he is the master of all living things, and that nature is there to be tamed at best; despised, broken, and destroyed at worst. This has led to a very dangerous situation: the belief that human beings can build a shining technological future without animals, and trees, and other life forms. Until this attitude is combated and erased from the human mind, Westernized human beings will be a danger to all earthly life, including themselves.

I say we must take a great spiritual leap backward. We must embrace the original view of creation: that everything around us is part of one great and interconnected whole. We must change this habit of regarding ourselves as superior or special creatures. This misconception has led us to the very brink of destruction.

We have become denatured. In old Africa, we believed that human beings could not exist without animals, birds, and fishes or trees. We believed that the universe was not only all around us, but also within us. For this reason, many African gods were depicted as part animal and part human.

If your God had the body of a man and the head of a lion, would you shoot lions for sport, or commercial reasons?

--shaman Credo Mutwa,
as quoted by Linda Tucker in Mystery of the White Lions.
(emphasis mine)

Not Off-Topic

This may seem to be off-topic, but really "Intelligent Life is All Around Us" is about regard and respect for all life. And obviously we have a hell of a long way to go in that direction.

The video I've included below is, on one level, funny. It is an excellent song parody. But it is also very, very angry. And so am I. The direct link to this video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Z9W59Z5ZY



August 18, 2010 update: Never mind that unconvincing picture recently released by the White House; read what the Associated Press has to say about the current state of the Gulf of Mexico. Remember as you read it that it has already been established that far more oil dispersant was used than was authorized.

The Difference between Dogs and Cats…

…in peoples' perception is too often composed of erroneous notions and baseless attitudes.

Heard just yesterday on a supposedly educational TV show, from the mouth of a supposed veterinarian: dogs have "playful energy" while cats exhibit "naughty behavior".

Why?