#4: A Culture of Violence

[Note: This is the fifth installment of my series on why I am vegan.  For the other articles in this series see: Why I am Vegan.  These are not in any particular order although I did add a number to the title for the number of reason being discussed. Other than that, the numbers really don't mean anything. ]

We live in a culture of violence.  This isn't something that is unique to American, but it is something that is endemic in America.  I'm not talking about football, MMA or movies.  Those things are violent and perhaps an argument can be made for their detriment to society, but I make a distinction between violence that is by mutual consent and that which is perpetrated by one who is stronger upon one who is weaker.  The violence I speak of makes victims.

When I speak of America's culture of violence I am speaking of pornography in all its forms and especially child pornography.  I am speaking of sex trade (yes, in America! If you don't know about this then it is time for you to wake up).   I am talking about the tens of thousands women and children who are raped every year.  I'm talking about the wars perpetrated by the U.S. in the name of national security.  I'm talking about violence that pits the strong against the weak. Violence that seeks to dominate, conquer  subject, enslave, humiliate and subdue.  

This kind of violence, the victimizing sort, leaves its mark on a society.  It weasels its way into every nook and cranny, no matter how hard we try to compartmentalize and sanitize our little sacred corners, free from guilt.  Its effects can be readily (if we are willing to look for it) seen in the dreams we dream, the literature we read, the movies we watch and the food we eat.  

I've commented on the treatment of animals and society in a previous post, And I am not about to tell you that the treatment of animals dictates the violence of a culture.  In fact, I suspect it is the other way around in most cases, depending on how one defines culture and the sampling being referenced.  But I can at least say with some confidence that a society that abuses animals for pleasure will either be headed towards a culture of violence directed at its weaker human counterparts or is most likely already there.  Even a culture that isn't caught up in a cycle of abuse of its own members can be seen to be abusing, or at least hold an abusive attitude towards, members of neighboring societies. 

It isn't black and white, however.  That would be easy to work out.  A society that is abusive towards animals isn't always clearly abusive towards humans.  And humans that are abusive towards other humans aren't necessarily abusive towards animals.  I'm sure there could be a wife beater or child molester or pornographer who is a vegan and love's his or her dog.  But I'm not really speaking of individuals here or subcategories.  I'm talking about society and culture.  In this case the culture really isn't, if ever, the sum of its parts.

This brings me to one culture that always causes me the most pain. The culture of the Christian Church.  Let me start out first by saying I don't believe that the bad behavior of some or even all invalidate the truth of a particular philosophy or doctrine.  They are separate.  To put it graphically, if a doctor or doctors are found to be raping their patients it does not mean that medicine or even going to a doctor is bad.  It just means there are bad people who practice medicine and who don't follow one of the basic rules of the practice: do no harm.  

That said, the gospel message is one of peace.  Jesus himself promoted a culture of peace.  Does this mean that everyone is suppose to be vegan?  Perhaps, but that isn't the point (more on that in a future post).  But it does mean that the last thing Christians should be participating in is a culture of violence.  How can we support organizations to stop the sex trade while at the same time support a government that perpetuates violence on such a grand scale for political and economical pursuits?  How can we claim to be followers of Jesus and at the same time willingly choose to ignore the massive amount of abuse committed against animals that can barely understand what is happening to them?

I've heard many Christians say, "Don't tell me about what happens to animals.  I want to be able to enjoy my chicken".  Or to graphically tell me about the pig they ate and how it still had skin on it and how it made them sick to their stomachs but then to go on to say they love the taste of ham?   I've tried to get Christians to do the research and they refuse.  Flat out refuse!  Why?  The reasons are varied  but when it boils down to it we have been so indoctrinated by growing up in a culture of violence that we cannot imagine life any other way.  We don't think we are violent.  We would be offended if we were called what we really are: an abusive people.  But there it is, staring us in the face like a grotesque  movie zombie.  We are violent and hardly live up to the name of the One we claim to follow.

If you are a Christian reading this post then I challenge you to write down all the reasons you eat animal flesh.  Then take the time to research the reasons.  Are they valid?  Most Christians I know won't even go as far as the first step because they can't be bothered to look in the mirror.  I admit it.  What will be looking back at you will be terrifying.  The rest of those who read this and actually took the first step, will stop there believing their justifications are valid.  But are they?  Until you actually test those justifications against reality they are less justification than fantasy.  The same fantasies that sent Jews to the gas chambers, that hacked men, women and children to pieces in Rwanda, that chain children and women  to the sadistic designs of sex traffickers and keepthe abortion mills open.   

Yes, that is harsh.  Yes, it is offensive.  I admit it and I intend it.  I want my brothers and sisters in Christ to take a real, honest, truthful inventory of one area of their lives that, more than any other, demonstrate without any doubt the evidence of a resident, endemic disease.  A disease that is the direct result of our culture of violence. 

This land is your land, this land is my land...NOT!

Recently I caught a news item on NPR that piqued my interest.  You can read or listen to it here. In brief, it spoke of plans to run a natural gas pipeline from Malin, Oregon to the coast. As might be expected this proposed pipeline has had a polarizing effect on land and business owners.  There are those who see only the economic benefit and seem to be missing the long term effects and potential hazards to flora, fauna and humans. Then there are those who see the potential damage and threat and feel that the risks far outweigh the rewards and therefore are threatening to dig their heels in.

As interesting as this is, what really caught my attention was a statement made towards the end of the article. From the article:

"But [the ranch owner] may not have a choice. Eminent domain likely will come into play, and a court could force reluctant landowners to allow the pipeline across their property, though that's not the company's preferred option."

I remember a friend of mine years ago made, what seemed to me, to be an offhand comment (he was an assistant to a surveyor at the time).  He said: "Land ownership is a myth. No one owns land in America except the government".  And now, every time I hear eminent domain come up I can hear my friend whispering in my ear, "Land ownership is a myth".

Now, I'm not a lawyer so I can't speak to all the in's and out's of eminent domain. Nor shall I try to convince you that all uses of eminent domain have been bad. All I want to point out is the fact that if the government (local or federal) decides they want your land or want to do something to your land then you are out of luck.  You may have had that land in your family for generations and if the government decides they want to run a big ol' pipeline across it neither you nor your long dead ancestors will have anything to say about it.

What does this mean?  It means if you or I ever want to stop big corporations from raping the land we may find ourselves shoved into a corner that will require something beyond complaining to our neighbors or our assemblyman or senator. It may mean we will have to actually put some sort of muscle behind our rhetoric.  But don't be worrying about some outbreak of acts of "eco-terrorism" (A term I despise) by angry landowners in the near future. The fact is most landowners eventually roll over and let big corp walk all over them.

However, I would like to offer this word of advice which may help such landowners decide on their tactics and how quickly they decide to cave.  That advice is this: the fact that you think the land belongs to you isn't going to help you because, to quote my friend, "landownership is a myth".

[I realize that no one really owns land, not even the government, however for this article I wanted to address a different issue.  I hope to address the fact that land ownership is a myth on a wider scale in a future article].