ThirstyFish

Another Bald Eagle in flight at the Conowingo Dam. It is estimated that in the early 18th century, there were about 500,000 Bald Eagles. By the 1950's, their population was reduced to only 412 nesting pairs in the U.S. They were hunted, electrocuted and DDT'ed to near extinction. In Native American culture the Gold Eagle is considered a sacred bird.

Native Americans believe that everything is sacred; from the largest mountains to the smallest plants and animals. They understand that everything is interconnected. They are humble about man's place in the world. They also believe that "land can not be privately owned, any more than water, air, or sunlight" - we are merely guests here on earth. Unfortunately, very little of Native American culture and beliefs survives for us to thoroughly understand the wisdom of their beliefs.

In the Abrahamic religions, the dominant belief is that man has a "special" place over all other forms of life. In fact the Bible says: God created man in his own image. Well, I hope not! I also think that man's significance in the universe is exaggerated. Try to grasp how big the universe is. To imagine that all of this was created for humans - those very humans that kill, pillage, destroy each other and themselves - is an insult to creation. Would you like an example?

A Clemson University student recently did a class project to determine if he could figure out a way to assist turtles in crossing roads. He set up realistic-looking rubber turtles and decided to observe them to determine how drivers react. Instead of helping turtles, he got a lesson about the dark side of human nature. He noticed that a significant number of drivers intentionally ran over the plastic turtle. He then went back to campus and asked his classmates whether they had ever intentionally run over a turtle, or been in a car with someone who did. 34 of 110 of his classmates raised their hands.

Animals [generally] do not kill for fun; they hunt for food. They don't take more than they need. Just by that criteria alone, we need to rank the human race below all animals. Animals are more suited for "God's image" than we could ever be.

Song of the Day: I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab For Cutie (2006)