Bizarro is brought to you today by the Aberrant Species Corporation. "You ain't seen nuttin' yet!"I was raised to believe humans are not animals, that we are something different, in our own category, annointed by God, the only creatures with a "soul," more important in every way. I no longer believe any of those things and it isn't just from watching "America's Got Talent."
(click image to enlarge)
This arrogant mindset is what has wedged our collective asses into the environmental crack from which we currently view the world. The idea that nothing matters but you and your kind works only so long as you are not very powerful. Like for two-year-olds. Annoying, but not particularly dangerous.
Once you can destroy your surroundings with the push of a button, the flick of a trigger, or the construction of a factory farm, that arrogance becomes lethal.
There's no debating that if a life form with superior intelligence came to this planet, they would immediately conclude that the only thing standing in the way of Earth's operation as the perfect biological machine that it is, is humans. Of course, if they wished to save it, they wouldn't remove everything else, they'd remove us.
13 comments:
oh so true! i was talking to my cousin's daughter yesterday (she's 7) about everything from puberty to treadmills, and i happened to mention that humans are animals too. she said "we're not animals!" i then went on to explain that the only difference between us and the rest of the animals is that we have the capacity to percieve and interpret our own reality. of course i put it in terms she would understand, but it was just proof to me how early we assume our own identities. and you're absolutely right-- humans don't realize that they're animals too, which is (obvioualy) why we take advantage of them for food and entertainment purposes. if we as an entire population understood our placement here on earth, i'm sure animal cruelty wouldn't even be a topic of discussion.
and on the topic of religion, here is bill maher's move trailor for "religulous." coming soon!
"Abborent"? That's abhorrent.
Very disappointed that I arrived at MoCCA five minutes after you left the table on the 7th floor.
6-1-08; definitely one of my favorite comics so far. I have always thought how sad it is that some people often take such pride in their destructive powers.
Good comment that we're the only thing standing in the way of Earth's seemless operation.
I was raised to believe humans are not animals, that we are something different...
Likewise, and my "beliefs" have alternated between reductionist atheism and something more open-ended as a way to "fill in the blanks".
Whatever cosmology you pick, it's an observational truth that humans have impacted this planet like no other, the only animals to step outside instinctually-defined reality to create their own abstractions. Isn't that the whole point of art, literature, science, and (g-d forbid)...religion? We risk dumping out the good with the bad by damning the gamut of our existence.
Any way you happen to deconstruct evolution, it's a shame that other animals did not provide an intelligent, organized alternative to the sloppy, opportunistic "human plan" for the earth. If we ever find ourselves on a lower evolutionary rung, let's hope those more advanced than ourselves are altruistic—and vegan.
If you look at the Bible, humans are supposed to have dominion over the animals; essentially it says we're supposed to have the brains to take care of the earth and the animals. I doubt you can find a religion that says we're supposed to make the earth uninhabitable and torture animals. The problems generally come in when people use their ideologies to support their own ego or material desires...
A postscript to my last comment - I'm not saying animals do not have souls... all you have to do is take one look into any animal's eyes for proof every creature has a soul.
Jon-
thanks for the spelling correction. I actually meant "aberrant" and just corrected it. But "abhorrent" works, too.
Who needs an editor when you've got so many learned readers? : )
Sorry I missed you at MOCCA, too, but I was not on the 7th floor. I was in the big room on the ground floor. Was someone impersonating me upstairs?
d
Perhaps I misread it, but I got upstairs a bit past 3:00 and saw a sign posted where Doug Bratton was sitting which I *thought* said you were doing sketches at that table from 1 until 3.
Finally. Someone who holds the same opinion of humans as I do.
Truly a classic. Funny and makes you think. Well done, sir!
I agree Julie. God put us in charge and it's man's sinful ways that exacerbated the current environmental situation.
that cartoon is now my desktop background. :)
hey shortcake, i know a lot of adults that refuse to believe that humans are animals as well. when the subject comes up i ask them, "are you vegetable?" no... "are you mineral?" no... "well, then you're an animal or you're made of plastic. which one is it?"
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