In the United States, and throughout the Western World, and even throughout the entire world, animals are viewed with one idea in mind: food. Now in the west not all animals are viewed in this way. Few people I know upon becoming hungry would kill and dress their dog and satisfy their hunger. Many foods are taboo in the west, but this is not the case with every culture. Some animals we don't even think about touching, much less passing through our lips and digesting. But you can be certain, that somewhere in the world someone or some culture eats that same animal that you revile. In particular we as a society are meat heads. I know it sounds offensive at first, but meat makes up the majority of our diet. It was Sukkot and I prepared a roughly vegetarian dinner for the family, and the first thing my aunt said was: "where's the meat!?" We live in a time and society where meat is viewed as the main ingredient of any meal. Unless you come across a vegetarian family, it is almost invariable that each household has meat for at least one meal, at least once a day. You don't believe me? Look through your refrigerator now, go now and look at what you can find. Did you find burgers? Maybe hotdogs or some chicken, perhaps some beef or cold cuts, yes bologna counts. If you did not find any meat, and you are not Jainist, Jewish, or vegetarian, chances are you will be buying some meat very soon. Look at the fast food market. Mr. McDonald has gotten very rich off of selling us meat for over fifty years, and it is the worlds larges fast food chain. If you are a high school student, you have the money, and the want to, where do you go at lunch? Do you go to a restaurant? Do you have a burger, maybe a burrito? Do you have a salad (smothered in chicken breast and dairy dressing)? Do you like steak? Perhaps a good cookout every holiday?
It is clear, that our society is full of people who love to eat meat. Heaven forbid that you go a week without eating meat, because then you must be weird or religious.
Because we have this carnivorous and even sometimes savage view of what animals are for, it is hard to imagine you hamburger sitting upright and delivering a sermon on the nature of the universe. We think of animals as food, not teachers. In fact, some of us think that animals are stupid and need training from us! But there are things that we can learn from the animal kingdom. |
