Disillusionment of a naive ARA

Back when I first started in AR (animal rights), I was incredibly naive, as exemplified by the following line of "reasoning":

1. My intention for joining AR is based on love, compassion, honor and justice. Society teaches moral values, including love, compassion, honor and justice, therefore, society should value ARAs (animal rights activists).

2. The anthem says, "land of the free, home of the brave", therefore, freedom in speech and bravery in action in its citizenry should be highly valued by the leaders of the nation.

3. Americans and Canadians seem to love animals, therefore they should and would laud their ARAs for dedicating themselves to furthering the rights and welfare of what they love.

4. In fact, I went as far as to think that since our motive is pure, and that we are devoted to the greater good, and that we are not after selfish gain, and that we are against what society frowns on, e.g. cold-bloodedness and cruelty, that we would be treasured by the politicians and law-makers as the country's best and brightest, the guiding lights in social evolution, the vanguards to a higher civilization.

Well, if you would stop laughing hysterically for just a moment, I will confess to being, w-hell, incredibly naive.

The facts of the matter are:

1. The power that be wants a dumbed-down and docile populace - for ease of rule and manipulation.

2. The extant culture has a life of its own; its top priority is self-preservation; the last thing it wants is change. Another top priority of the extant culture is economic growth at all health and environmental cost; any growth-slowing change is considered anti-social, unpatriotic and even treasonous.

3. Politicians, even governors, even the President himself, are not leaders of the nation, nor followers of the people, but are puppets of sociopathic corporations and their psychopathic CEOs.

4. The law is not about love, nor compassion, nor honor, nor even justice itself. What it wants is total obedience, even if a law is immoral or even unconstitutional (e.g. google the Jan Haagensen case where she was convicted of 9 counts of violation against the Pennsylvania Hunter-Harassment Statute for asking 9 hunters to leave HER property).

In fact, the freer one is with ones speech, and the braver one is with ones action, the more one is targeted for persecution. And if you step one inch out of line, even in something that used to be celebrated and is still being celebrated in the context of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, i.e. something as innocuous as non-violent civil disobedience, especially if your activism is successful, i.e. causing economic damage to unethical and destructive corporations, you will be classified as a common criminal, if not a domestic terrorist.

Such was the rude awakening of a naive ARA.


Anthony Marr, Founder and President
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC)
Anthony-Marr@HOPE-CARE.org
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.facebook.com/Anthony.Marr.001
www.facebook.com/Global_Anti-Hunting_Coalition
www.myspace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.youtube.com/AnthonyMarr
www.HomoSapiensSaveYourEarth.blogspot.com
www.DearHomoSapiens.blogspot.com
www.HOPE-GEO.blogspot.com
www.ARConference.org