A Necessary Endeavor

Sometimes, as part of being responsible individuals, we have to do things that we'd rather not do. For instance, there are few things more depressing, more endowing with feelings of tragic hopelessness, then being a witness, directly or indirectly, to the pain and suffering people bring to one another and to other animals. So who, then, in their right mind, would spend time reading and learning about this stuff?

There is, however, in the writer's opinion, a moral duty that each one of us has to understand the (chosen and remediable) suffering that goes on, precisely to the extent that one has access to such information. Well, thanks to the Internet, we're all a bit more morally culpable then we used to be. We (that is, most of us) can no longer plausibly claim ignorance about immoral practices that go on in and outside of our societies...

We are morally culpable because such practices flourish in an environment of sufficient apathy, willful ignorance, and denial. All of these stances are, of course, in each of our interests to take- better to be apathetic than pained with one's knowledge; better to be ignorant than aware of what goes on and therefore somehow obliged to act accordingly; better to... well, you get the idea.

But, all of these stances are CHOICES. And choices are actions. Choosing to be apathetic, ignorant, or in denial are therefore all actions which ACTIVELY contribute to the perpetuation of undesirable practices. 

So, what's the moral of the story? Simply TO BE AWARE and TO ACTIVELY LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND YOU, EVEN, AND ESPECIALLY, WHERE THAT WORLD ENDEAVORS IN CRUEL, UNNECESSARY ACTIVITIES. This is OUR RESPONSIBILITY as citizens in a society whose practices are a result of the people we elect; the legislation we support; the cultural norms we propagate; and the things we choose to ignore and not concern ourselves with.

Thus, here is a page that Corner Vegan has dedicated to further exposing the pain and suffering that human beings have caused to other animals. This stuff may be painful at times to read; but, knowledge fuels one's actions, and one's actions fuel change. It is, in other words, a NECESSARY ENDEAVOR if we are to live in a better world. The author would like to emphasize the sheer reasonableness of having concern for the nonhuman suffering that is committed by us humans. It is only through a shameful act of denial and rationalization that one considers and then dismisses the suffering of other animals. We hope that the information we collect for you on this blog will show just that, and will productively contribute, even if on a minuscule scale, to the progress made in the realm of animal rights.