Drift toward the sea
Along with the clouds and tears
Leaving these mountains.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
One of the used books I’ve enjoyed reading in Panama is The Animal World of Albert Schweitzer. It was published in 1950 and is divided into four sections; Schweitzer’s childhood experience with animals, his own experiences and stories that were told to him about animals while he operated his hospital in Africa, a comparative religion section that discusses how various religions believe animals should be treated, and finally an explanation of what his ethics, a reverence for life, entails.
It brought back memories of a book I read while I was in college that turned me even further in the direction of vegetarianism, Diet for a New America. At the time, when I was in a more militant frame of mind, that bludgeon of a book really had me clenching my fist in anger and moving me to action.
But now I wish I would’ve read Schweitzer’s book first. It’s slow build from a very personal account through his development of what he believes should be a universal ethical principal, is compelling in a far more compassionate way than Diet is. Schweitzer’s account is far more suited to the tone desired if we are to convince ourselves and others to think and act on moral grounds in our treatment of animals.
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