Fwd: FW: NOTMILK - A Declaration of Animal Rights

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FW: NOTMILK - A Declaration of Animal Rights

Sat, 9 Apr 2005 16:11:27 -0400

 

Hi, some of you may be vegetarians for environmental reasons, health

reasons, and or moral reasons. I think the following is eloquently stated

by Robert Cohen and would like to share it with a receptive audience.

 

Thanks for reading this. Pass it along to someone if you agree with it.

 

-Andrea

 

 

 

A Declaration of Animal Rights

 

American school children are often taught a fractured history of their own

nation, from the reality of Columbus enslaving native Americans to the

Pilgrims stealing seed corn intended for spring planting from the Abenaki

Indians a few weeks before landing at Plymouth Rock in December of 1620.

 

A Declaration of Animal Rights

 

American school children are often taught a fractured history of their own

nation, from the reality of Columbus enslaving native Americans to the

Pilgrims stealing seed corn intended for spring planting from the Abenaki

Indians a few weeks before landing at Plymouth Rock in December of 1620.

 

The Pilgrims originally intended to land in Virginia, but one tribe after

another made it clear that they wanted no such colony.

 

When they reached Southern Massachusetts, they were starving.

In the middle of the night, they came ashore and raided the (fierce and

ferocious) Abenaki Indians, stealing their seed corn. That kept them alive

for a while. Despite such hardships, three of the eighteen Pilgrim wives

were able to survive the winter, as well as half of the married men. All of

the children died.

 

Kids are taught to recite lies regarding the Boston Tea Party and Paul

Revere's Midnight Ride, because those are the lessons that are learned. How

can one recognize 21st-century tyranny without appreciating the true reasons

for America's 18th century revolution?

 

Not one child out of one hundred has any idea as to why Thomas Jefferson was

selected to write America's Declaration of Independence. When Jefferson

defined the reasons for the American Revolution in his brilliant

1773 essay regarding a summary view of the rights of colonists living in

British America, our founding fathers determined that the time had come to

declare unity by creating a new generation of change. Jefferson was chosen

as the scribe. The Declaration of Independence resulted, and led to a

constitution of philosophy and laws which made America great.

 

Jefferson had written:

 

" Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day;

but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period, and pursued

unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a

deliberate and systematical plan of reducing us to slavery. "

 

Animal rights activists have lacked the vision to follow the evolution of

the animal rights movement to its logical conclusion. We cannot provide

sanctuary for every farm animal.

Despite the wonderful feel-good work of the altruists who run sanctuaries

for abused animals, these rescued creatures should never have been born to

this earth. The logical conclusion of our so-called animal rights movement

is that these sentient creatures should not have been born to suffer. This

includes 2,000-pound Holstein hormone-monsters, or turkeys unable to

copulate naturally because of the altered size of their breasts. These new

species of animals should not have been created by man to satiate his lust.

Science has made their muscles larger, so that larger portions of meat could

be cut from their bones, but scientists have yet to find a way to remove

emotions and pain receptors from creatures who live short lives so that they

can die to feed man.

 

The non-humans living out their lives at farm sanctuaries are mere

ambassadors representing ten billion other animals who will suffer and die

this year to feed Americans.

Twenty-seven million animals each day having their throats cut. During the

time that it took you to read this far into this essay, over fifteen

thousand animals have died. Read the preceding sentence aloud. Fifteen

hundred chickens have had their throats slashed, and lay flapping atop each

other, choking on their own blood. Should not every American have the

opportunity to view that same horrible carnage that we know all too well,

over and over again? Does it really matter that each chicken spends her life

in a larger confinement cage?

 

Save these animals? For what, one might ask? Farm cows and pigs are

physically unable to reproduce. Artificial reproductive means replace males

who have become too large to mount females. Farm " units " have been bred for

high protein yield and low bone density. They live lives of pain because

skeletons cannot adequately support their own weight. The compassionate

among us would recognize that ending their pain is the ultimate conclusion

for all who truly care about suffering. These artificial creatures should

never have been engineered nor born.

 

Today, the animal rights movement is misdirected. We delude ourselves by

promoting compassionate slaughter. We make it easy for these animals to live

their lives to their own painful and tortured conclusions. We make it easy

for meat consumers to veil their collective consciousness. Have you taken

note of the fact that meat eating is increasing? Our misguided efforts are

partially responsible.

 

Once upon a time, a chicken spent her life in an area that was eight inches

long by eight inches wide. We have increased her border by one-half inch,

and dance our absurd victory, patting ourselves on the back, applauding

organizations taking false credit for making meaningless differences. What

good has resulted from such efforts?

 

We in the movement have made the journey of transition more challenging for

meat eaters. We have arrived where we now are, vegans all, by recognizing

the horror of slaughter. The major animal rights groups raise millions of

dollars to lobby Congress to change laws making it easier for animals to

die.

Their laws make it easier for farmed freaks to live longer lives of pain,

with the same ultimate conclusion. Their new laws relieve the consciences of

carnivores, so that the yearly per capita consumption of chicken and beef

increase, negating those actions of the truly passionate activists who fuel

the animal rights movement with their time and dollars.

 

We on this side of the fence should make it our priority to show the

meat-eating public exactly what slaughterhouses produce. The blood. The eyes

showing fear, and then pain.

 

Our strategy to relieve suffering relieves a universal conscience. The same

strategy that brought us to understand death through violence should be

intensified, not lessened.

If all animals must die, then all animal eaters must take responsibility for

their own participation in the slaughter.

Our current strategy is to deny them their path to truth.

In doing so, we provide a rationale for increased meat consumption. If the

animals do not suffer, meat eaters reason, then there is no reason not to

eat them.

 

When King James of England assembled the greatest scholars of his time to

re-write the Bible, his effort resulted in a masterful rendition of two

important theological testaments.

 

All animals need that same champion today. A King James.

An organizer of an animal rights conference. A scribe to record the abuses,

and to set them down on paper, and produce new documents representing animal

rights from the animal perspective.

 

So too, do farm animals, laboratory animals, circus and rodeo animals live

in a time of deliberate tyranny which reduces them, and all who abuse them,

to slavery.

 

So too, should those in the animal rights movement come together, and meet

in one large assembly hall. We should allow each voice the opportunity, as

eloquently as can be stated, to declare his or her own philosophy in regards

to animal abuse and animal rights. The words should be duly noted, and

recorded, and three documents should be drafted, and subsequently signed by

those men and women of courage who must work together in one spirit and in

one voice. We need to draft a universally accepted declaration of animal

rights. We need to draft a new constitution which all animal rights groups

agree to uphold. Finally, we need to draft a set of protocols, including

standard operating procedures, which govern the procedures by which animal

rights organizations conduct their actions, passions, and behaviors.

 

It would be my suggestion to hold this assembly during February of 2006.

During that one week series of meetings, there would be a formal agenda in

which all men and women of conscience present one short presentation of five

minute duration or less to the entire assembly.

 

It would be my additional suggestion to hire two court reporters to capture

all comments and produce a transcript of the entire commentary of our

yet-to-be held animal rights congress.

 

It would be my suggestion to have the conference jointly sponsored by Freya

Dinshah of the American Vegan Society and Alex Hershaft of Farm-USA.

 

It would be my suggestion to have Howard Lyman act as moderator/chairman of

this conference, acting as speaker of the house, of sorts, following an

agenda to be laid out by the two conference organizers.

 

Then, and only then, when all comments are recorded, would one man or woman

be selected by a panel of conference organizers, to write that final and

future declaration of animal rights.

 

Let us all be inspired by the words of Bryce Courtenay, from The Power of

One:

 

" Changes can come from the power of many, but only when the many come

together to form that which is invincible...the power of one. "

 

Robert Cohen

http://www.notmilk.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight "

" The question is not, Can they reason? Nor can they talk? But can they

suffer? "

" We all love animals. Why do we call some pets and others dinner? "

http://www.factoryfarming.com

http://www.tryveg.com

http://www.goveg.com