Living Glory!

I accidentally killed a fly today. Well, I didn't really kill him, he killed himself by flying into my lips which were freshly Chapsticked, but I still feel responsible for providing him with the tools by which to end his own life.

I don't like killing bugs. I don't like killing anything, really. Even plants. It's part of the reason I became vegetarian. I feel bad for the Earth when little kids rip up the grass to throw at each other, like they're ripping out hair. It's the worst with the bark peeling they do. If I have children one day, they will not do that.

Anyway, I don't like to kill bugs. I also don't like to see other people killing bugs intentionally for no other reason than the fact that they can. Every life has a purpose and goal and to end it like that is unfair. It's rather self-righteous to think that because you are larger and more intelligent that you are also more important or valuable in this world. Those tiny lives may be short and simple, but they are lives nonetheless and deserve the respect any life deserves. Killing a bug because it is simpler than a human is like killing a baby because it is simpler than an adult. We know it is wrong to prey on the innocent, the vulnerable, the dependent ones. I don't mean to compare the complexities of the human mind to that of a bug's, but you understand. Babies are vulnerable like bugs.

Killing a bug is just the same as killing a small frog, or a bird, or a puppy or a cow. They are all simpler than us, aren't they? How is walking up to your cat and knocking him off any different than squashing a bug so vigorously you can see his blood and guts smeared all over the pavement? Is it because you own your cat and therefore your emotional attachment is what keeps you from killing him when he starts walking all over your newspaper? Bugs belong to things too. Ants to colonies. Bees to hives. They have a purpose in their world and it is just unfair to think your purpose is "better", just because you can. Humans are at the top of the food chain, but the thing about being at the top is that we are dependent on everything beneath to function properly in order for ourselves to survive. It may seem drastic of me, but it really does start out small. Kill too many bugs and the bats won't have food. Not enough bats and the bugs will overpopulate. Too many bugs means not enough plants. You know how it works. Thoughtless killing of bugs turns into excessive slaughtering of chickens, of pigs, even of civilians in war.

It all comes down to thought. For that is why humans are at the top to begin with. We aren't particularly menacing physically; we have no natural defences, no natural armour and nothing really to attack with. We aren't even very fast in comparison to great animals like gazelles and cheetahs and ostriches. We depend on our advanced minds to survive. We should use those advanced minds for the best and understand the value of other creatures cohabiting with us, no matter how disposable those lives may seem. Don't kill bugs, leave them alone. Let the spider out. Besides, if you were really bent on killing all the bugs around because you just don't like them, you'd never stop. You're always within three feet of a spider.

Oh, and your skin? Yeah. Look at the mites crawling all over you.

"A person's a person, no matter how small."
-From Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss