RE: Can I just say, and I'm just being honest...
July 19, 2018 at 12:23 am
(This post was last modified: July 19, 2018 at 12:30 am by Kernel Sohcahtoa.)
CIJS,
Over the weekend, I discovered that there were tiny house mice in a box (three total) that was in one of the rooms in my basement: they were very young and certainly needed a mother to care for them. I attempted to call the local animal hospital, but they recommended that I call animal control or the humane society. As a result, I tried contacting a local, humane animal control removal service, but I got their messaging machine; I left a message, but they never got back to me.
After doing some research online, it was recommended that if one encounters a nest of house mice in their home, then they should either call animal control and have the mice humanely extricated; leave the nest alone (as a human is a poor substitute for a mother) and the mother may resume caring for her young ones, and eventually, they could be humanely removed from one's home; or, commit to taking personal care of them: taking care of baby mice requires a lot of time and sleepless nights, so given my full-time job, that was not a doable option. Thus, I chose to leave the nest alone and allow the mother to take care of her mice.
Well, today, when I got back from work, I discovered that the mice were dead. As a result, I carefully gathered them up and buried them outside; I disposed of the box that they were in along with the materials in the box.
Upon reflection, I am definitely bothered by this experience. It seems that it is all too easy to dismiss other lifeforms, whom humans perceive to be lower level, as life which has value beneath humanity; I would have unquestionably demonstrated more concern and acted with a sense of immediacy if I discovered abandoned human babies.
That said, supposing there were lifeforms more advanced than humanity who looked upon humans as humans tend to regard other lifeforms that they consider to be beneath them, how would humanity react if these lifeforms did not value human life as much as their own? If these lifeforms are to us as we are to mice, then does their morality/ethical systems supersede our own, which IMO, seems to be how humans approach other life-forms on Earth? Perhaps developing a workable way to value all forms of life with equal diligence is a true hallmark of an enlightened/advanced species?
P.S. I apologize to anyone if my post has upset you or has caused you to be disgusted/disappointed with my performance in this matter.
Over the weekend, I discovered that there were tiny house mice in a box (three total) that was in one of the rooms in my basement: they were very young and certainly needed a mother to care for them. I attempted to call the local animal hospital, but they recommended that I call animal control or the humane society. As a result, I tried contacting a local, humane animal control removal service, but I got their messaging machine; I left a message, but they never got back to me.
After doing some research online, it was recommended that if one encounters a nest of house mice in their home, then they should either call animal control and have the mice humanely extricated; leave the nest alone (as a human is a poor substitute for a mother) and the mother may resume caring for her young ones, and eventually, they could be humanely removed from one's home; or, commit to taking personal care of them: taking care of baby mice requires a lot of time and sleepless nights, so given my full-time job, that was not a doable option. Thus, I chose to leave the nest alone and allow the mother to take care of her mice.
Well, today, when I got back from work, I discovered that the mice were dead. As a result, I carefully gathered them up and buried them outside; I disposed of the box that they were in along with the materials in the box.
Upon reflection, I am definitely bothered by this experience. It seems that it is all too easy to dismiss other lifeforms, whom humans perceive to be lower level, as life which has value beneath humanity; I would have unquestionably demonstrated more concern and acted with a sense of immediacy if I discovered abandoned human babies.
That said, supposing there were lifeforms more advanced than humanity who looked upon humans as humans tend to regard other lifeforms that they consider to be beneath them, how would humanity react if these lifeforms did not value human life as much as their own? If these lifeforms are to us as we are to mice, then does their morality/ethical systems supersede our own, which IMO, seems to be how humans approach other life-forms on Earth? Perhaps developing a workable way to value all forms of life with equal diligence is a true hallmark of an enlightened/advanced species?
P.S. I apologize to anyone if my post has upset you or has caused you to be disgusted/disappointed with my performance in this matter.