Thursday, September 25, 2008

cat, dogs, and dolphins

i wonder if catholics will follow the same ideology for animals that they do for humans. 

meaning??

there's a new law going into effect soon in l.a. stating that most pets 4 months and older must be spayed or neutered. one has 60 days to comply upon being "found out" with no penalty, otherwise pay a $100 or $500 fine for the 2nd and 3rd offenses, respectively. apparently there are 3-4 million animals euthanized in shelters annually in the u.s., and the humane society says that's too many.

soo...how does this pertain to the ideology of catholics? my understanding of the catholic faith is that they do not use birth control. can't really force them to use birth control. so now it's the law to use birth control on their pets. on all of our pets, really.

my guess is that most people won't bat an eye. we'll think it sucks because we have to pay for the operation. we'll think that if the county wants to enforce a law, then that county should somehow pay for it. but in the end, we'll do what we always do, which is complain about it and follow the rules. 

i just wonder why people think it's okay to treat an animal like an animal and not a human. we're different species, sure. and i've heard the argument that when animals earn a paycheck or clean up around the house, then they can be treated like a human. (i might have made that argument myself on an occasion or two. or just this morning.)

so rather than let the feline and canine populations grow out of hand, we're taking it into our own hands and solving a problem before it really becomes a problem. right?

so here's what happens. too many strays, so they get picked up and put in a shelter. that shelter can't afford to take care of all the animals. so if the animals don't get adopted within a specified amount of time (in some shelters), those animals get euthanized. so sad!

we don't do that with humans though. imagine this: an orphanage. unable to afford to take care of the kids. so if the kids aren't adopted within a specified amount of time, those kids get euthanized. riiight.

i realize it's not the same thing. i just wonder why. 

i digress.

but that's not even the issue. that's talking about euthanization. killing a human. killing a living being. unacceptable, i get it. 

the issue is birth control. god doesn't want catholics to use birth control. that's god's decision on whether or not anyone should or should not have a baby. but with animals we can do whatever we want.  no 10 commandments for the animals, i guess.

and of course, animals can't speak up and say, "hey human with the food and the sandbox cleaning: i've talked to god and god says i should just do whatever i want. so thanks for that snippit offer, but no thanks. now go clean that sand again and give me a treat." 

can you imagine? non-birth control users have 60 days to comply with a new law that says population is getting out of hand. first offense: $100 fine. 2nd offense: $500 fine (and all fees and expenses that go along with having a child). the perfect defense to this is clear. just in case they bring this law into effect, i'm prepared. i've gone ahead and "gone gay" just so i don't have to worry about that whole "procreation" thing. i've always thought of myself like a dolphin.

helpful creature. likes to swim. sex for pleasure. 

not necessarily in that order. 

2 comments:

  1. I found a quote about dolphins when I was a teen by Horace Dobbs that said, "He is free to associate with humans and things human when he wants, and he is also free to take to the wild and open sea. To me, freedom is a dolphin." The quote was on my wall throughout college. I'm still envious of their evolutionary decision to return to the water full time. They've definitely got their priorities in order.

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  2. Interesting thoughs you provoke ms reid. Do a little research on the Chinese. I'm a little sketchy on the details, which is why I want you to do the research and explain it to me... (this is why our relationship works). But I think they have something about only one child per family, for fear of more girls than boys. Something like that. Not sure, but it somehow fits into your writing. Second thing that popped into my head is the whole survival of the fittest thing. We crap all over the little guy cause we can (animals), they crap all over the one smaller than them (insects), they crap all over those more defenseless than them (vegetation...as evidenced by the snales and caterpillars eating the garden). Somehow we get our inner strength from flexing our outer one, on whomever we can without suffering big consequences.... soo, guess what I'm saying is it may not just be the catholics who are hypocritical, but perhaps all of us when it comes to pumping up our self esteem and proving our superiority. Oh and love the dolphin analogy. :-)

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