Reality Bites

I am realizing more and more as of late that life doesn't play by the rules that I play by.

If there is anything in life that I embrace its helplessness. It ignites compassion and empathy from the inside. I think that's why I've always gravitated to dogs throughout my life. They're helpless without us. But then I think about life that aren't pets. Humans, regardless of their lack of concern for other humans, classify certain animals as "okay to kill" but "oh, if you abuse a dog, you're going to get prosecuted" but if you kill a cow, or a pig, or a chicken, and now we're getting into horses--oh that's fine, because we need a good dinner on a date night out.

When I moved to Minnesota for my ex-fiancé I had a talk with her brother, who loved hunting and insisted if humans didn't hunt down animals it would kill the ecosystem and spread disease. Needless to say, I sensed some eye rolls in that conversation. My ex-fiancé described her first hunting trip, shooting deer, and following it through the woods as it bled out, dying a slow death.

I grew up thinking nothing of it. My passion was fishing. Every day I had off work I'd be fishing. Bring 'em home, cut their heads off, skin 'em, cook 'em.

I think my journey to Atheism brought up a lot of questions, like "what kind of god would create such a world that relies on death to exist"? But the thing is, minus a could've been amoral god, it's our reality regardless, with no one to blame. The basics of life is a will to live within an environment that is designed to kill that will and will eventually succeed.