Earthlings 1

I didn’t really think about Earthlings right after watching it in World Literature. I take accounting right after World Lit., and I had to focus upon the accounting quiz. Sounds unimportant compared to the message in the video, but I usually base my opinion of any new information I learn upon my thoughts later on in the day. I consider everything from the actual information I learn and the manner in which it was presented to my mood and reactions to anything regarding the subject-matter of what I have learned. So when I got home, I did some thinking and realized that during class the video had no effect. That’s partly because the video was integrated with the class, so I viewed it as a novel that we were supposed to read, but at home, I felt as if I had never seen Earthlings.

'Night' by Eli Wiesel was also a book, but it wasn't fictional


I admit that this is a little confusing, especially since Earthlings is such a gory, or rather graphically vulgar, motion picture. Also, I had a quiz right after class, so I had to switch gears in my head, but still Earthlings is so graphically vulgar that it can completely alter a person’s emotional state. And I say graphically vulgar because the video’s message is simply too powerful. When I hear human screams, I get goose bumps; I’m usually panic-stricken for a few seconds and sometimes the mere nature of the scream will force me to cover my ears, but with Earthlings, I would much rather close my eyes. Most people think the same way; as the saying goes, it’s easy to turn a blind eye. For a short while, that’s exactly what I did. I ignored all of the facts that Earthlings presents, and all of the facts became much more real when I opened my fridge and saw a gallon of milk.

I really thought dairy cows were happy


Right then, the graphically vulgar nature of Earthlings kicked in; upon noticing the milk, I could see, in my mind, the image of a chained dairy cow on the so called milk farms. I thought, “Milk isn’t grown; why do they call it a milk farm?” I hope you ask the same question to yourself because then you can realize that the actual cow is worse off than property. I remember a dairy cow episode on Blue’s Clues; I was only 8 and thought that dairy cows are the happiest cows ever! Then, I saw Earthlings and realized happiness is not even possible for a dairy cow. How could it be? Their diet is so particular, iron-deficient. My cousin was once iron deficient, and she seemed so weak for a few weeks that I thought she was dying. An iron-deficient diet does something similar to the cow. Not immediately of course, no; the life of a dairy cow is restricted to about 2-3 feet of mobility in their small cell where they are chained to ensure little or no movement. After four years of this life, the cow will collapses from exhaustion and is then slaughtered. Surely, there is no possibility of happiness for a dairy cow!

This is a much more accurate account of a dairy cow's life





















The idea of happy animals brought about a new idea. Is there anything that, if done differently, could make me feel differently about Earthlings, make me feel happy? Action is always good. If animals were treated more humanely and killed by more merciful means, I would feel much better, true, but my happiness is irrelevant; it’s the happiness of the animals that really matters. It was the same idea with the Holocaust. The most important thing to do was to ensure the happiness of those being persecuted; primarily, this meant freedom, food and new clothes. If the same could be done for animals so as to end their holocaust, I will be very pleased, but in the case of the Holocaust, the Jews were mainly liberated by a force that did not exercise absolute dominion over them. The question now is who will liberate the animals? Who will fight for the speechless? I say that it would have to be the person that returns your gaze in the mirror every day. That person is so much more powerful than any single human can ever be; they can move mountains and shine brighter than any star. All that you and I need to do is give them the permission. You and I, we just provide a vision, but it’s that person in the mirror who follows through with our dreams. For in some region of our brains, this person is ideal and omnipresent. They exercise judgment when confronted and guide us like a compass through the morally ‘gray’ areas. All we have to do is let this ideal person within us view Earthlings. This person has been judging right and wrong for us ever since we were born, so why not let them do so one more time?


We all need to help shape OUR plannet


Of course the most obvious argument is what can one do? Is there a need to worry ourselves when one is too small of a number? To these people, I say that one is better than none. When one does the right thing, one slowly turns into many, and then, the many become numerous, but it is all through the power of one. Some people question this; they say it’s too hard or too much to ask of an individual. It’s not that it’s too much or too hard because one can and has changed the world. Take MLK Jr. or Mahatma Gandhi. Surely there circumstances were extreme, and they were fighting a cause that was duly their own, but if they were alive now, would they do something? Surely, this is a subjective answer, but the one thing I do know is that I am alive now, and I can make a difference, just one at a time.

One has a unique perspective, allow yours to be known