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We are and have been for hundreds of years a society/world of slaves. Either you are a slave or a slave master. Many have tried to break free, but in some part or parts of life, that historical connection gets us and changes us from a free people to a people enslaved to each other and to the things which bind us. What is that new word that has entered our vocabulary in a terrifying way, and growing fast, intruding on life in many cities, suburban areas, country towns – human trafficking?
We enslaved Africans. However, long before the enslavement of Africans we enslaved the Hebrews and we can go back to many other peoples and animals who we enslaved. Is there something wrong with the human spirit, that we cannot be whole and a people functioning on their own two feet and even reaching out to help others?
Our history seems to say that we have to destroy and desecrate others so that our needs can be met without our putting forth too much energy and effort in the process. We must make sure those who serve are categorized and marked so that their role in our society is clear and definitely defined as subservient and never even close to being equal! Do our security needs demand such?
Enslavement is a necessity because we need to make sure our needs are never left unfulfilled even for a little while. We need to make sure that whatever – whoever – we have designated and oppressed and labeled to make their purpose and use only the fulfillment of our needs is close by and unable to function except at our bidding. The slave’s food, shelter and even their ability to take another breath depends upon our continuous need for them and our willingness to fulfill their basic needs because their enslavement becomes a part of our identity!
For some time now, it has become more and more noticeable that we have emotionally enslaved dogs. They are a group, which in the wild run in pacts with a pact leader. We have taken advantage of that and become the pact leader to our dogs – even if that is only one dog.
What we demand in return is total unadulterated worship.
We are becoming more and more isolated from one another – almost a reflection of what is happening in space as the planets and all the otherworldly objects are moving further and further away from one another. So to are we as humans doing the same thing.
Because we need to feel a closeness to something or to someone, we have chosen to make that the dog. We don’t have to return to the dog what the dog gives to us. When we make an attempt to respond to what we are given, it doesn’t have to be fully and when we have other things to do, we can go our way and ignore that animal which has been so faithful to us. We have even justified killing the dog when it has outlived its usefulness.
Of course, not everyone reacts in this way, some are the exception. The role of the exception – which is meant to disprove the rule – only proves, to those watching closely enough – that the rule is rigid. Kind of like what is happening at this tail end of racism.
We are moving to formalize this emotional slavery of dogs by naming an increasing number of them “therapy dogs”. Dogs, whose mission it is, in this society, to be to others what normal human beings no longer are capable of being. Our own lives have become so “busy” that we don’t have time anymore to reach out to those in need. We no longer get any satisfaction out of giving to others in need. We are delegating those jobs more and more either to society’s underclass or – even better – we have discovered the “therapy dog.” Society’s underclass were the people to whom we entrusted the care of our elderly, sick, mentally challenged, seriously handicapped. They also served to be there and help the dysfunctional. But, they are getting to be a nuisance, expecting equality, beginning to be unhappy with their lot, being ‘undocumented’ but needing and beginning to demand more; no longer being able to quietly serve the rest of society making do with less than humans need to survive.
That elderly person whose family has left them to be cared for by others will buy them a dog. Or that person, in serious emotional need will find their own dog to replace their human family and friends. Or, someone else buys that “therapy dog” so that deserted person has love and affection and does not have to depend upon another human being and does not have to be beholden or give to another human being in return for any affection given to them. What a new form of “freedom”.
What kind of society is that creating?
Dogs have been trained to pee and shit wherever they feel like taking care of their bodily functions. They can do this with impunity as long it is away from the area where their owners live. On someone else’s property? Around the trees in the city – which can then get sick and infect all of the other trees? Dogs have been trained to leave their bowel movement wherever it falls, which means, wherever they decided to drop it, and if it affects the health of children who come along and come into contact with the dogs feces, the dogs owner walks away doing nothing and with very little to no responsibility for what their dogs have done. The more upscale the area, the more infected with dog feces it becomes. The more upscale the area the more enslaved dogs one finds.
At the end of winter and the snow melts, one sees enormous amounts of dog feces on the ground, where the dog owners have allowed their dogs to drop their “business” and walk away leaving it. The snow covers everything so why not? The small gardens all over a lovely area with flowers and others kinds of growth where the dog is encouraged to hop in, do their ‘business’ and hop out with the owners walking away leaving the dog feces to infect whoever and whatever comes along – including other dogs when the feces is diarrhea feces and another dog sniffs, eats or otherwise interacts with that diarrhea laden feces. Many dogs are infected with disease in this way. One dropping of diarrhea feces – given a couple days – generates many more droppings of diarrhea feces from other dogs who inhabit the area. When the leaves fall, the same phenomena happens and just before the snow falls to continue the process.
Parks, which once belonged to children, who could run, jump, fall down, now belong to dogs who run, jump, drop their feces and play with their owners since this is their one time of ‘freedom’ during the day. The other part of the day they are locked in a room; kept in a basement; confined to a dog cage; or etc. The more privileged dogs are kept behind a fence in a small yard.
Slavery of any kind breaks down a society in the most desperate ways and this emotional slavery of dogs is no exception. The most dangerous part of this slavery is our refusal to see and/or name it for what it is. We call them “pets”. Animals were not made to be the “pets” of humans. They have their own lives and go their own ways except when they are kept enslaved and begin to understand their well being – their food supply – their shelter are all dependent upon that human slave owner who demands that they wag their tails vigorously when that human owner approaches, who demands that they jump for ‘joy’ all over the human to show excitement that they have not been abandoned to a cruel and unresponsive world that treats dogs without owners viciously. Need I describe more…………………?
And here come the denials!
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Tags: bed & breakfast, Bettina Homes, Bettina Network's Lifestyle Community, Racism, Sexism, Spiritual Reflection
