{"id":160121,"date":"2017-01-17T14:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T19:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=160121"},"modified":"2017-01-17T01:17:30","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T06:17:30","slug":"millennials-lets-revolutionize-way-view-human-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/millennials-lets-revolutionize-way-view-human-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Millennials, let’s revolutionize the way we view human life"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Early in January, SeaWorld lost its most famous modern orca<\/a>, Tilikum. People soon took to social media to express their condolences regarding the death of the beloved animal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As a Millennial someone who cares deeply about animals, it\u2019s sad to hear about the death of a killer whale who lived most of his life in captivity for entertainment purposes<\/a>. Taken from the wild at a very young age, Tilikum was acquired by SeaWorld 25 years ago. He lived the majority of his life basically in a giant bathtub, away from the rest of his family in the wild. Over those years, Tilikum was responsible for the deaths<\/a> of three people, two of them being trainers.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s safe to say any animal \u2013 or person for that matter \u2013 locked up in a confined space for a long period of time would go crazy. It\u2019s abuse.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s understandable that the public would be mourning Tilikum\u2019s death. I get it; I\u2019ve been a vegetarian for 23 years now. But at what point do we as a society realize what else has been going on during Tilikum’s lifetime and during the entirety of many Millennials’ lifetimes? When do we step back and come to the realization that many times we put more energy into mourning over the death of animals than we do the death of preborn human children?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for a cultural evaluation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Before I suggest my proposition for a cultural revolution, let’s\u00a0take a look at how we got to this point in our society; that animal lives are somehow more valuable than human lives<\/a>, specifically the lives of preborn children. The\u00a0sexual revolution is a good place to start.<\/p>\n

The sexual revolution was a time in history from the 1960s to the 1980s when rationalizing just about anything meant that social practices not accepted in the past were now morally okay, no matter the reasons or circumstances. As humans, it\u2019s easy for us to justify anything, even when it can hurt people\u00a0— the often\u00a0dismissive use of birth control<\/a>\u00a0(which can often be abortifacient), abortion<\/a>\u00a0on demand,\u00a0etc. Justification can lead to blindness. Blindness can lead to deception.<\/p>\n

During the 60s and 70s, a woman\u2019s potential right to kill her baby was also being considered.<\/p>\n

On January 22, 1973, our nation\u2019s highest court rationalized the idea that a woman could have the right to choose life or death for her preborn child, ruling\u00a07-2 in favor of abortion<\/a> throughout the nation<\/a>. What was the Supreme Court\u2019s reasoning or lack thereof? Griswold v. Connecticut<\/a>; the case that said the American people have a right to privacy. But the justification didn\u2019t stop there. According to Oyez<\/a>, Roe v. Wade<\/em><\/a> \u201cgave a woman total autonomy over the pregnancy during the first trimester and defined different levels of state interest for the second and third trimesters.\u201d But how can a mother have total autonomy over her pregnancy when another human life is involved<\/a>? It\u2019s not rational to think that one human has complete control over another human, but somehow the Supreme Court made it so.<\/p>\n

Taking this discussion back to animals, in the\u00a0United States it is illegal to basically do anything with bald or golden eagles. This includes the selling, purchasing, and exportation of eagles, to name a few restrictions. The law protecting these animals is the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act<\/a>, which was enacted\u00a0in 1940. Skip ahead 30 years, and we see an updated version of the Act.<\/p>\n

In 1972, around the same time the landmark case Roe v. Wade<\/em> was decided, an increased penalty for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act was instituted. That penalty includes<\/a> \u201ca maximum fine of $5,000 or one year imprisonment with $10,000 or not more than two years in prison for a second conviction. Felony convictions carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or two years of imprisonment. The fine doubles for an organization. Rewards are provided for information leading to arrest and conviction for violation of the Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, what does the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act have to do with the sexual revolution? In an article for Public Discourse<\/a>, Ligia De Jesus Castaldi writes,\u00a0\u201c[…] abortion rights dogma can obscure human reason and harden the human heart so much that the same person who feels empathy for animal suffering can lack compassion for unborn children who experience lethal violence and excruciating pain in abortion.\u201d (See the video below, made by a former abortionist, if you doubt that abortion involves violence or pain.)<\/p>\n