Humanity's ascension from the depths of the food chain has become its most significant liability. Above the daily trials of survival via civilization, man has forgotten that his feet remain planted in earthly existence. We choose to see ourselves as enlightened beings forgetting that shortcomings still exist. Science and technology, at each uncovered truth, has helped to expand the number of questions. Each step forward in consciousness has unbalanced the relationship of man and nature; Each triumph over a problem has increased the lack of respect for that which we use to observe the answer- the world and its inhabitants. We use the word animal as a derogatory term, beneath human life and something to be no present in an acceptable human being. Do we not remember that we are in fact animals per the Animalia biological kingdom classification? We see ourselves as separate not only from the animals that we walk among but from the world itself. Even the most environmentally concerned activist operate from a perspective that understands human evolution and its by-products as separate from nature.
Do we not realize that all animals create and destroy in some manner on a daily basis far away from human civilization? All of these actions play a significant role in the future developments of the world both negatively and positively. We are apart of this world, and it is essential to our continued relationship with nature for us not to forget that. We have our advantages of course, but let us not mistake those advantages as permanent.
