By Katherine Smith, PhD

Did you ever wonder why our pets are so happy and we are so sad?

Here is a picture of them worshipping me.

I think it’s a God thing.

After all, when you get right down to it, there isn’t much difference between the environment we live in and the one we create for our pets. [1]

The only reason we think we are civilized and they are savages, out of the wild, is because we use toilet paper and don’t (can’t) lick our genitals in public.

We are fed, entertained and housed, not by God, but by The Powers That Be (a non-conspiracy term for Satan) [2]

They (our pets) are fed, entertained and housed by us, their God.

Here is a picture of them waiting for me to entertain them.

Our pets are sort of like Monotheists, helpless and vulnerable and we are their saviors. [3]

The Two Question of Questions

Why was I born? What am I doing here?

Jews, Christians and Muslims (Monotheists) think they have the answer; they love the God of the Old Testament who wants to be with them for eternity in heaven.

The Jesus story is that God loved “us” so much he sent his son down here the first time to die a horrible death on the cross, to pay for our sins past, present and future. This is called the free gift of salvation.

The main difference between the Jesus story and the other “Teacher of Righteousness” stories is that the Essenes and the Zoroastrians don’t have a Tribulation. God (Yahweh) in the Old Testament doesn’t handle rejection too well and so anyone who doesn’t take him up on the free gift of salvation dies an unusually cruel and horrible death in the “end times.” Rev: 6-16

All of the stories have one thing in common: man is the greatest, most important part of creation.

Christianity is unique in that man is so important he was given dominion “over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

This humanistic view and importance of mankind can be found in every discussion of philosophy, psychology, spirituality and science since the end of the 16^th century. All of them look to finding ways to bring mankind closer to each other and farther away from Mother Earth (Gaea). [Appendix A]

While some Christians are waiting around for the second coming, “dominion” gave them free reign to do anything they want with the planet: desecrate the environment, destroy entire species of wildlife, inflict torment and slaughter billions of animals every year so they can get a hamburger for a dollar. Farms, Hamburgers, and “Free” Enterprise

According to Christians, animals and pagans don’t have a soul. Therefore Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” don’t apply to anything the religious right does in the name of Jesus Christ.

To make matters even worse for Gaea, the bible says when Jesus comes back the Earth will be re-made. Rev 21:1

Therefore, since we are getting a new heaven and a new earth putting the planet (according to the GEO4, a massive United Nations Report) at the unknown points of no return might actually hasten the second coming.

Our last president Bush elected by the moral majority, wasn't “stupid” if his goal was to hasten the second coming before he left office. At the G8 summit, George W. Bush said, “Goodbye, from the (then) world's biggest polluter.” He proposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, which would trash America's last arctic wilderness. Sonar testing is about torturing whales and dolphins, and the border fence that keeps everything out but the illegals is disrupting an extraordinary source of biological diversity along a 2,000-mile-long region that includes deserts, mangrove forests, plains, mountains, river valleys and wetlands. [4]

Faith

The belief that man is the center of the Earth was a minority until 1096 when Christianity was spread by decree to get as many people to heaven as possible because the mansion occupancy rate was too high. John 14:2

Until the Crusades, “mankind’s” thinking was predominantly pagan; that is they loved the Earth, didn’t worry about salvation and believed they played only a small part in the whole circle of life and that each part of creation played a significant role in the contentment and survival of the other. [5]

Monotheists, Pagans and Buddhists all have one thing in common: they desire eternal life and need faith ("the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" He 11:1) to get them through the day.

My dogs don’t need faith because they can feel, smell and be petted by their God in the flesh, who is making sure each day is heaven on earth.

And since I don’t have a humanistic view of my dogs, they don’t have to suffer in old age until I decide it’s time for them to leave the Earth.

Dr. Xavier Le Pichon, a practicing Catholic, has a rare perspective on the meaning of humanity — it is our compassion for each other that differentiates us from the animals. Unlike animals (and pagans) who either kill the sick and dying or abandon them on the side of the road, human(e) beings care for the handicapped, the elderly and terminally ill. [6]

Dr. Le Pichon explains how the elderly, under severe mental and physical stress, lose the motivation to go on living because “older people have the impression that they are not useful, that nobody needs them, and they opt to . . . go.” [7]

We are “compassionate” and demonstrate our humanity when we don’t let them “go” and comfort them in their misery, until God decides to take them to heaven.

On the other hand, when we play God with our pets, we show a lack of respect for “the right to life and to a natural death.”  And according to Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Truth in Love), “society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology.” The pope believes our duty towards the environment is linked to our duty towards the human person. In other words one human life, any human life (even one whose existence is equivalent to a plant) is more important than nature. Taking Life: Humans, Peter Singer

The Unnatural Death

When our pets can no longer perform their “activities of daily living” (ADLs), the basic tasks of everyday life such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting and transferring (i.e., getting in and out of a bed or chair), we don’t do the “compassionate” thing and keep them alive to prolong their suffering.

We take them to the vet where it’s legal to cradle them in our arms and watch them peacefully go to sleep.

That would be my definition of a compassionate God.

I have a question for the Christians, and in particular for the pro-life academic Professor Margaret Somerville:

“What are you waiting for?” You already have your pass to heaven. [8]

If I were her, I would want to get up there right away.

Because, if there is a heaven, it’s got to be better than “this,” and if I am wrong and you are going to the other place (without air conditioning) early, it’s for eternity, so a few more years isn’t going to matter.

Don’t bother trying to argue suicide is murder or some kind of unforgiveable sin – it isn’t. You can kill yourself any time you like and there is nothing in the Bible that says you aren’t going to heaven.

The really inconvenient truth is that you are facing either:

• Being unable to perform your ADLs and you are wearing Depends
• Taking care of someone who is unable to perform their ADLs and is wearing Depends
• Feeling guilty because you aren’t taking care of someone who is unable to perform their ADLs and is wearing Depends

I know not what course other Gods may take, but when I play God, if it’s a choice between my followers wearing a diaper, depending on someone because they are wearing a diaper, or feeling guilty, I will put them to sleep.

Katherine Smith, PhD mandrell2010@gmail.com

Footnotes:

[1] I don’t use the word “pet.” I think its speciesist language. I prefer “companion animal.” For one thing, we would no longer allow breeding. People could not create different breeds. There would be no pet shops. If people had companion animals in their homes, those animals would have to be refugees from the animal shelters and the streets. You would have a protective relationship with them just as you would with an orphaned child. But as the surplus of cats and dogs (artificially engineered by centuries of forced breeding) declined, eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship – enjoyment at a distance -- Ingrid Newkirk, PETA's President, quoted in The Harper's Forum Book, Jack Hitt, ed., 1989, p.223.

Of course she said that before she joined the ranks of the “humane societies” that exploit our sympathy for animals in distress some of them that don’t even exist for money.

[2] G. William Domhoff, a Research Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz first coined the non-conspiracy acronym TPTB. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Miami. He has been teaching at the University of California, Santa Cruz, since 1965. Four of his books are among the top 50 best sellers in sociology for the years 1950 to 1995: Who Rules America? (1967); The Higher Circles (1970); Who Rules America Now? (1983); and the non-“conspiracy” critique and theory of the U.S. power structure, The Powers That Be (TPTB) in 1979.

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913

One of the most important domestic acts in the nation’s history took the power to create money from the people in 1913 and gave it to TPTB of our filtered history books in theory for profit.

During the ensuing years those scoundrels were able to distort the structure of relative prices; generate misallocations of labor and capital throughout the economy; rationalize new governmental interventions in the face of the market “instability” to manipulate the patterns of and the profits from international trade which resulted in the charge that capitalism was the source of exploitation and economic insecurity for “the working class.”

Instead of a trial on the “Cruelty” of Capitalism, the scoundrels devised the welfare state and the middle class. A solution that created vast and bloated state and federal welfare bureaucracies, made millions perpetual wards of a paternalistic state and drained society of the idea that freedom meant self-responsibility and mutual help through voluntary association.

[3] I actually agree with Ingrid Newkirk (PETA) regarding the absurdity that mankind needed his own pet to give him unconditional love (I guess that’s because there isn’t enough love in the world). There are guide-dogs for the blind, why not guide-people for the blind?  The truth is, thanks to selective breeding for nonsense characteristics like floppy ears and over and under bites, we bred out any usefulness they may have had and the ability for them to survive on their own.

[4] Certainly George “Evangelical” Bush’s with his biofuels policy. There are enough calories to feed one person for a month every time we fill up the 25-gallon tank in our SUV. The small LCD at the gas pump should show an emaciated pagan in the third world starving to death, according to the distinguished McKnight University Professor C. Ford Runge, because the food he needed to survive is being burned up so you can drive your car to the mall.

[5] Paganism represents a wide variety of traditions that emphasize reverence for nature and a revival of ancient polytheistic religious practices.

Paganism is not a traditional religion, per se but one of the common beliefs is the divine presence in nature and the reverence of the natural order in life.

Spiritual growth is related to the cycles of the Earth and great emphasis is placed on ecological concerns.

Monotheism and atheism (the opposite of paganism or pantheism) is almost universally rejected within Paganism and most Pagan traditions are particularly rooted in the revival of ancient polytheist religious traditions.

Indigenous populations of “savages”, pagans, traditionally and historically believed humans were created to be caretakers of the garden -- Mother Earth.  They held all things of creation sacred and respected Nature.

• Never take more than we need;
• Thank Creator for what we have or what we will receive;
• Use all of what we have;
• Give away what we do not need.

Had the pagan bobbleheads been allowed to live according to the divine idea that all things were equal and no animal, including man, held dominion over other parts of creation, we could not have passed the “unknown points of no return” [environmentally].

For many Pagans, maintaining balance between humanity and nature is also an important purpose of being human. Humans exist not merely to enjoy the bounty of the environment, but also to serve and protect the environment, not only for future generations of humans, but indeed for the sake of nature itself. Although such a values-driven understanding of life's purpose is far from universally held within the Pagan community, for many this is an important part of their chosen spirituality. In a spirit of noblesse oblige, humanity's intelligence and vision carry with them a responsibility to care for the well being of nature as a whole.

Finally, some Pagans do accept a metaphysical understanding of life's purpose, derived from mythology and spiritual beliefs. Living a good life can create positive karma, which can lead to a blessed afterlife existence and/or a favorable reincarnation.

[6] They don’t even let all of the males fornicate. “A single sentence will suffice for modern man: he fornicated and read the papers.” Albert Camus’ famous quote from 1957 might read, He fornicated and watched TV in 1967 and, He fornicated and surfed the web in 1997.

[7] Xavier Le Pichon has become a famous geophysicist, the man who discovered plate tectonics, and that the frailties and flaws of the plates beneath the earth are essential elements in living geological systems. His writing is not just theory, but a world view. Frailties and flaws are essential to humanity, too. What makes us weak also holds the keys to our development, our psychological growth, our humanity.

[8] Subject: Exit Notice: Canadian 'Safe Exit' Workshops extended

Professor Somerville is the pro-life academic who pressured the Canadian Government to cancel the “Exit” work shops by the “right to die” advocate, Dr Philip Nitschke.

The October 2010 North America ‘Safe Suicide’ program has been forced into a last minute change in plans following the unexpected US State Department’s request for ‘more information’ before the necessary US visa can be issued to Exit Director, Dr Philip Nitschke. Workshops planned for New York, Orlando and San Francisco will now need to be rescheduled until visa difficulties have been resolved.

ExitUS apologises to all those who had planned to attend these events. This is a totally unforseen development. Bookings in New York & San Francisco had been heavy and everyone registered has now been contacted. As soon as tour dates can be reconfirmed, these will be publicised via Deliverance News & Forum.

This news comes as Exit completes a very successful Canadian workshop tour where interest has been high, and media reports of the tour positive.

The National Post (Page 1) 13 Oct 2010 ‘Workshops test legal boundaries’, ‘Exit plans for those who don’t want to linger’

Criticism of the workshops from pro-life McGill academic, Prof Margaret Somerville, who argues that Exit meetings “threaten this country’s legal and moral landscape...[and] have no place in Canada” have been brushed aside by Philip Nitschke who has responded by challenging Professor Somerville to a public debate on the issue.

Exit Meeting to be Held in Montreal

In light of the unexpected postponement of the US leg of the tour, an extra workshop has now been scheduled for Montreal at 1.15pm on Saturday 16 at the Unitarian Church of Montreal (5035 boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest). All welcome.

Exit will hold a public meeting & Safe Exit workshop at the Unitarian Church of Montreal at 1.15pm on Saturday 16 October.

The Unitarian Church of Montreal can be found at: 5035 boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, just west of Claremont.

Exit's public meetings, which are free & open to all, examine the legal & political history of the Voluntary Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide debate. Given the current debate occuring in Canada, Dr Nitschke will discuss his unique experience during the world's first VE law, Australia's Rights of the Terminally Ill Act when he assisted four patients to die.

Exit workshops examine the practical issues associated with end of life issues in the context of older age and serious illness.  Workshop attendance is restricted to the over 50s & people suffering from serious illness (and their families). Exit reserves the right to refuse entry at any time and for any reason.

Exit workshops are free for members.

Appendix A

Humanist/Biological - continue humankind through reproduction. Since the end of life is death, they argue that the creation of more humans is the most important thing and that the true meaning of life is our connection to others: biologically, socially and culturally. Otherwise humanity would cease to exist.

Hedonism/Freud - humans are here simply to just enjoy life and strive for a happy existence. Sigmund Freud, the Viennese doctor called this view the pleasure principle. Humanity is meant to experience maximum pleasure and minimum pain.

Hedonism/Maslow - The humanistic branch of psychology most associated with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Humanistic psychologists concentrate on individual potential and purpose in life.

Existentialists - Jean Paul Sartre said, “Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself.” In this view, personal freedom may be seen as having the potential of both positive and negative outcomes depending on the choices one makes.

Advance or help humankind - humankind should help end suffering and strive for equality and human rights for all people.  Variations include: contribute to society through their work, and discover technological or other types of advances to aid in the positive progress of humankind or following their principles as their most important purpose in life.

Transhumanism - the meaning of life is to improve the human body by extending that life. Transhumanists seek mental and physical improvements in concern with stopping the aging process. Transhumanist views hold that since life began through evolution, it is up to evolved humans to control and extend the quality of life.

Meaningless - Some people answer that there is no point in even trying to find the true meaning of life because the question is just so deep or they view life as an existence with no deep meaning attached to it.

Logical positivist - The logical positivist approach to the verification of something considered to be meaningful is that something must be able to be logically or cognitively determined to be true. Since the logical positivist verifiability criterion cannot prove the answer to the question what is the true meaning of life? Positivists tend to view the question as meaningless.

Nihilism - German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche’s view of nihilism voids human existence of having any meaning. There is no meaning to why we are here. Nietzsche considered Christianity’s concern with the afterlife stronger than its occupation with life on Earth, so he considered the meaning of life empty.

Illusion - French philosopher and scientist, Rene Descartes, asserts that life may not even be real, but rather may only be a dream. He questions the reality of our physical bodies. Some people hold the view that the true meaning of why humankind is here is the result of either accident or coincidence.