The Animals

I remember watching Secretariat run the final race of the Triple Crown. He was glorious. strong and toned with big bones. As he walked to the gate, the muscles flexed underneath his shiny coat. He pranced with confidence. He was not a commodity. His jockey loved him like a baby. He won the Triple Crown with heart and with soul. No drugs. No abuse. The world was in love with a horse. Not a bet. Not for the money. But for the opportunity to lay eyes on this magnificent creature. I visited the farm where he lived and died. A spectacular farm in Paris, Kentucky. Secretariat grew old there and when he died he was honored with a grave and a monument bearing his name. He was called “the horse that God built.”
The Breeder’s Cup this past Saturday was a jolt reminder of how far our society has fallen. Mongolian Groom collapsed, writhing in pain on the track. The drunken crowd cheering on their horse, the one they had placed their bet on was silenced as the horror unfolded in front of them. It was a slow motion torture. For a moment the onlookers were aghast. The crowd looked on as the magnificent horse lost his life to abuse and drugs at the hands of greedy men willing to do anything for a buck. The 42nd horse to die at Santa Anita. I assume there was no grand burial, I mean really he was only a horse, right?
Who do we think we are? In the great scheme of things, who the hell do we think we are? I will tell you who we are. We are monsters. We are cruel, insidiously cruel. We are selfish, self serving empty souls.. We destroy everything we touch. It looks like karma is coming for us. For the many horses who died on the track or were thrown away to slaughter…wrath is coming. For the 8 billion farm animals and the 7 billion chickens in one year…a nasty storm is brewing. For the deer and duck…the clouds are growing dark. Mother Earth is done with us. We were given paradise and turned it into hell on earth. The greedy bastards who claim ownership of the planet and wanting one more quarter of profits at all costs…nothing…not your 27 bedroom museum or your millions and millions that sit in your bank account will save you. In your joy at the suffering of the animals, the sea, the forest, and the farm…a reckoning is coming.
Is it possible that God could be an animal? Maybe a pig or a cow, and all of this was a test? The Garden of Eden was paradise teeming with birds and animals, apparently the divine holds all creatures in high esteem. I hardly think posing with a dead deer and smiling in photos or a magnificent horse crashing to his death on a racetrack is really what our creator had in mind. Maybe hell is a slaughterhouse, imagine that. Maybe the human’s idea of heaven is not what they expect. Perhaps it is pastures of green grass with no toxins and forests of wildlife, cozy barns of animals and every dog and cat we have ever known. The humans? There are a few, only a few, only the caretakers. You know you can’t run a horror show and expect paradise for eternity. Karma is inevitable for the monsters who are unable to feel the pain and suffering of all creatures. But Secretariat will be there, Mongolian Groom too. The cow that became the hamburger you ate for dinner, the pig turned to bacon and every dog and cat I have ever known will be there. But you, how about you, will you be there?

End the animal holocaust.
Photos @Pinterest
