*On the Plane*

It is funny/frustrating for me to think about how quickly I can go from despair to acceptance on any given topic. The frustrating aspect is that it reveals the shaky, subjective nature of perspective. On the airplane right now is a nature show. Animals eating animals and the Earth, the Universe, and time finishing off the rest. Humans may yet destroy much of what they love about this world. Is that bad? Would it be less bad if it was a meteor that destroyed everything? It seems like some people need to go around raging at atrocities and some need to knowingly or unknowingly commit them. It is hard for me to find my place in this. What is worse about factory farming - that it causes unnecessary pain or that it shows a fundamental lack of respect? Maybe this lack of respect is the hub of atrocity? Native Americans are often portrayed as having an abiding and deep respect for their world. They still ate meat and warred, but in my romanticizing mind, it was coming from a more natural place. Or maybe just from a perspective that is more frequently seen mirrored in the natural world.

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Current definition of Respect: the felt experience of recognizing others (plant, animal, mineral, ETC) as being of unique and fundamental value to the universe.