We Are All Earthlings | mello's Blog

earth’ling: n. One who inhabits of the earth.

Since we all inhabit the earth, all of us are considered earthlings. There is no sexism, no racism or speciesism in the term earthling. It encompasses each and every one of us: warm or cold blooded, mammal, vertebrate or invertebrate, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, and human alike. Humans, therefore, being not the only species on the planet, share this world with millions of other living creatures, as we all evolve here together.

However, it is the human earthling who tends to dominate the earth, often times treating other fellow earthlings and living beings as mere objects. This is what is meant by speciesism.

By analogy with racism and sexism, the term “speciesism” is a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species. If a being suffers there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration. No matter what the nature of the being, the principle of equality requires that one’s suffering can be counted equally with the like suffering of any other being.

[S]peciesists allow the interests of their own species to override the greater interests of members of other species.

“As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.” - Leo Tolstoy

Ignorance is the speciesist’s first line of defense. Yet it is easily breached by anyone with the time and determination to find out the truth. Ignorance has prevailed so long only because people do not want to find out the truth. “Don’t tell me, you’ll spoil my dinner” is the usual reply to any attempt to tell someone just how that dinner was produced. Even people who are aware that the traditional family farm has been taken over by big business interests ... that their clothes come from slaughtered cows, that their entertainment means the suffering and death of millions of animals ... and that some questionable experiments go on in laboratories, still cling to a vague belief that conditions cannot be too bad, or else the government or the animal welfare societies would have done something about it. But it is not the inability to find out what is going on as much as a desire not to know about facts that may lie heavy on one’s conscience that is responsible for this lack of awareness - - after all, the victims of whatever it is that goes on in all these awful places are not members of one’s own group.

It all comes down to pain and suffering. Not intelligence, not strength, not social class or civil right. Pain and suffering are in themselves bad and should be prevented or minimized, irrespective of the race, sex, or species of the being that suffers. We are all animals of this planet.

We are all creatures. And non-human animals experience sensations just like we do. They too are strong, intelligent, industrious, mobile, and evolutional. They too are capable of growth and adaptation. Like us, first and foremost, they are earthlings. And like us, they are surviving. Like us, they also seek their own comfort rather than discomfort. And like us, they express degrees of emotion. In short, like us, they are alive; most of them being, in fact, vertebrae, just like us. As we look back on how essential animals are to human survival; our absolute dependence on them (for companionship … food … clothing … sport and entertainment … as well as medical and scientific research), ironically … we only see mankind’s complete disrespect for these non-human providers. Without a doubt, this must be what it is … to “bite the hand that feeds us.” In fact, we have actually stomped and spit on it. Now we are faced with the inevitable aftermath. This is evident in health reports due to our over-excessive consumption of animals. Cancer, heart disease, Osteoporosis, strokes, kidney stones, Anemia, diabetes, and more. Even our food has now been effected … and at its very source.

So a change is inevitable. Either we make it ourselves, or we will be forced to make it by Nature Itself. The time has come for each of us to reconsider our eating habits, our traditions, our lifestyles and fashions, and above all, our way of thinking.

So, if there is any truth to the age-old saying, “What goes around, comes around,” then what do they get for their pain? Do we even give it a second thought? If what goes around comes around, what do they get for their pain? They are earthlings. They have the right to be here just as much as humans do. Perhaps the answer is found in another age-old saying … and one equally true: We reap just what we sow.

So of course, animals feel, and of course they experience pain. After all, has nature endowed these wonderful animals with well-springs of sentiment so that they should not feel … or do animals have nerves in order to be insensitive? Reason demands a better answer. But one thing is absolutely certain: animals used for food, used for clothing, used for entertainment, and in scientific experiments, they all die from pain¾ each and every one under the sun¾ and all the oppression that is done to them.. Isn’t it enough that animals the world over live in permanent retreat from human progress and expansion? And for many species … there is simply nowhere else to go. It seems the fate of many animals is either to be unwanted by man … or wanted too much. We enter as lords of the earth bearing strange powers of terror and mercy alike … [But] Human beings [should] love animals as … the knowing love the innocent, and the strong love the vulnerable. When we wince at the suffering of animals, that feeling speaks well of us even when we ignore it, and those who dismiss love for our fellow creatures as mere sentimentality overlook a good and important part of our humanity. But it takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal. And it is actually within us to grant them a happy life … and a long one. On the heath, King Lear asked Gloucester: “How do you see the world?” And Gloucester, who is blind, answered: “I see it feelingly.” I see it feelingly.

Three primary life forces exist on this planet: Nature, Animals and Humankind. We are the Earthlings. Make the connection.

From the documentary Earthlings written by Shaun Monson.

http://www.isawearthlings.com/PDF/Earthlingstranscript.pdf