Walking
along the northwestern Ontario gravel road, being assaulted by insects that
tried to bite me, set up shop in my hair, and get into my eyes, I was struck by
a thought. This thought was further buttressed by witnessing the quick and
violent deaths of several insects via dragon flies and birds. Also, that my
wife and I were walking in bear country made me ponder a potential
confrontation of that nature. Most animals do what most animals gotta do: catch
and tear each other apart to live. Whether the fauna at hand be insects, birds,
reptiles, fish, or mammals, it is a brutal—and often very short existence.
The
thought that struck me was this: does the apparent meaninglessness of bugs lives,
along with their inability to perceive that meaninglessness—and, in many cases,
to feel pain or experience fear in the same manner that humans do—actually
prove that humans are different, superior…because they have been
given the ability to perceive (and feel) these things? It seems to me a clear
tell that we have been given this ability by the God of Genesis. (Moreover, we
wonder about our own creation, and that of the universe of which animals are
not aware.) Additionally, the gifts of compassion, humility, empathy—and humor—should
make this clear.
In
any case, we were not eaten by a bear, which I perceived was a good thing. I
wish I could say the same thing as regards the bugs. We’ll laugh about that
later.
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