o
p
o
Ivana Tucitova, “Tucita”, robust lady and gifted butterfly hunter, lost today her battle with lymphoma.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Tucita
For many people, a pet is a selfish way of filling an emotional void, or just an expensive kid’s toy. But for some others, a pet can be much more. For instance, it can be one’s first experience at caring for another being, the first life for which one is completely responsible of. It can also be the first extension of a couple’s love in what can be called a pilot family experiment. Needless to say, the word carries a very different meaning for the latter. Abbas Raza from 3quarksdaily understands this meaning.
PETS AND PERSONS
by Abbas Raza
“There are two kinds of people: there are the kooky kind who will spend $4,000 on dialysis for their cat whose kidneys are failing (substitute some significant expenditure of resources for individuals in differing financial circumstances—you know what I mean), even if only to extend its life briefly; and then there are the kind who will make fun of the former (or even regard them with moral disapproval—that money could have been used for better purposes, etcetera). Recent events surprised me by showing that I belong in the first category. And now that I know I belong there, I am going to attempt an explanation or at least hazard a conjecture, a speculation, a plain guess, at what puts some people there.”
“The objection that one should not waste ones money on things like cats is spurious and basically silly. I am not objecting to someone spending $20,000 on a cruise to the Antarctic, or a set of bigger breasts, or whatever. Is their travel or vacation or how their breasts look so important that they couldn't spend the money saving childrens' lives in Africa with it instead? This is crazy and would make it immoral for any human to live a life better than ANY other human on Earth. I'm not stealing the money, after all, I can spend it any way I like! Some might say that since cats have no sense of their future (hopes and dreams for it, for example) and they have no sense of their own mortality, it is not worth it to try and save their lives. Try telling that to the parent of a one-year old child, who also doesn't have these things! Oh, I'll stop there with my defensiveness.”
Related articles in ChiliConDarwin:
-
Is there an “I” inside my dog? If yes, what’s the difference between it’s “I” and my “I”. John Derbyshire explains why this century may be the first (in all the twenty-four we have been pondering c...
Subscribe to ChiliConDarwin weekly updates
