Charles River is a very large international corporation dealing in life science where the value system of life is in daily question. Recently a very large research facility has been constructed not more than a mile from where I live in Reno. The structure is located behind a tall steel fence with an over burden of security apparatus. Several large chimneys reach skyward from the facility presumably utilized as incinerators for remains of destroyed life forms. When it was under construction/expansion a few young ladies picketed the project in protection of inferior innocent animal life.
Charles River is a scientific facility in which drug testing is utilized on various species of animals from mice and rats to birds and primates. The expensive operations are paid for by pharmaceutical companies out of the profit motive for improving human life. This is done by developing drugs that may kill lesser species of life until such time by trial and error the developed drug(s) cease to kill but sustain and enhance life. How many animal life forms are daily destroyed is unknown, While it may be far more than meet death through natural causes world-wide it is one of those things that the public is unaware of and therefore out of public mind. However when a new drug comes on the scene it is praised and priced as worth the risk of those unknown expended "lesser" lives.
We spend countless dollars to Save human life from accidents, fire and drowning but at the same time expend money to destroy lives in wars with other humans with whom we have disagreement. So to those we love as with common identities and singleness of purpose we show no limit on expenditure to save a life but to those who disagree with us we expend billions to kill and destroy for the purpose of conquering and subjecting those lives to our values (or to steal from them).
What is gained by "life" to kill other lives when we don't even know what "life" is?
[**Author's note: I have been writing on O. E. N. for about two years now and enjoying the singularity of author's name. Recently another Doug Wallace began writing with an excellent article on childhood bullying http://www.opednews.com/articles/What-would-your-son-do-if-by-Douglas-Wallace-0906 . I have encouraged the new author to keep writing and suggested that we use middle initials to distinguish one of us from the other. So starting with this article I will use my middle initial "A" for Alexander and the other author will use "W" for Warren. So hopefully readers will recognize the difference between Douglas A. Wallace and Douglas W. Wallace as authors and not innocently burn the wrong one for anything which might offend the reader. Incidentally when the internet was new some 15 years ago and research was somewhat free, I discovered there were about 130 Doug Wallaces' with telephones in the U.S. . So it seems not only are Wallaces' prolific so is naming of Douglas Wallaces']
[*** It was not long after that time that I ceased to find hunting and killing to be a sport and abandoned the practice. But like so many others, I wonder just how many carcasses of animals I have participated in eating. I often look at a hillside and imagine it to be covered with a vast flock of turkeys I have also participated in eating. And I must add it somehow bothers me should I meet those lives in an after life]
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