Ethics vs. Sadism

After reading about the experiments about sadism I was shocked. I was very surprised to see how easy it was for the participants to show sadistic characteristics. One experiment in particular was the prison experiment. The guards began treating the "prisoners" very poorly and even punishing them. "Several guards became increasingly cruel as the experiment continued. Experimenters said that approximately on-third of the guards exhibited genuine sadistic tendencies. Most of the guards were upset when the experiment concluded early..." (488). All of these experiments come to the horrible conclusion that humans are more likely to be sadistic, which is "Enthusiasm for inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others" (485). If humans are easily persuaded to be sadistic towards humans, I'm sure they are even more likely to be cruel to animals. People are beginning to link animal cruelty to the person's probability of committing other sadistic acts against humans. This is one of the reasons people are beginning to pay more attention to animal cruelty. "Another significant reason for the increased attention to animal cruelty is a mounting body of evidence about the link between such acts and serious crimes of more narrowly human concern" (497). This fact was demonstrated in William Hogarth's experiment. He traced the life of the fictional Tom Nero over the "Four Stages of Cruelty". In stage one the boy Tom is torturing a dog, and stage 4 shows Tom's body after he had been hung for murder. Animal cruelty has "long been recognized as a signature pathology of the most serious violent offenders" (497). After doing the reading, I was not surprised to find all of the studies that confirm the link between these two offenses. Cruelty towards animals is not an act that should be ignored, but a serious problem that must be addressed before it goes even further.

Vegetarianism

I really enjoyed the assigned reading in the anthology on eating meat, especially since I am a vegetarian myself. I especially liked the discussion on the attributes possessed by a vegetarian. Many people place a stereotype on people who call themselves vegetarian assuming they are "tree huggers" or have weird values and views. This, however, is not the case. Many people that choose to be vegetarian maintain what is considered a very "normal" lifestyle by non vegetarians. What really stuck out to me about the section on Carnism was the fact that vegetarians are labeled but "meat eaters"are not. "We don't see meat eating as we do vegetarianism- as a choice, based on a set of assumptions about animals, our world, and ourselves. Rather, we see it as a given, the "natural" thing to do" (446). People assume vegetarians are the different ones who have chosen to live a life unlike the rest. In reality, meat eaters choose what goes into their mouths as well. This invisible belief system about eating animals is what is called "carnism." Not only are people ignoring the fact that they have a choice not to eat meat, but they are buying into to well concocted myths. For example the relationship between the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the National Dairy Council. The national Dairy Council is one of the ADA's leading sponsors, explaining their recommended daily dose of milk. They do this, however, despite "evidence linking dairy consumption with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, various cancers, and diabetes" (454). It is evidence like this that prompted me to become a vegan. After reading Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet I had a much better understanding of the meat industry and the cruelty involved in getting my food to my plate. It also shed some light on some of the myths that we are told ever since we were young. Including that you can only get protein from meat and a glass of milk a day is good for you. As a society we have bought into these food myths and just assume them to be true without actually checking for ourselves. We need to take some initiative and find out not only what is actually in our food but where it comes from as well.

LBJ Library and Museum

After looking through the LBJ museum, I took noteof a few important characteristics that LBJ possessed. All of these characteristics focus around leadership and ethics and they all have something to do with making him a great leader and President. The three main characteristics I am going to focus on are patriotism, determination to fight for what is right and courage. LBJ exhibited patriotism and a willingness to fight for his country when he enlisted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He set an example for the rest of the country by being one of the first congressmen to fight in the army. An example of LBJ's determination has to do with civil rights. LBJ signed the 1964 civil rights act which forbade discrimination in public accommodations. Upon signing this he pushed it through to passing without compromise. He was determined to do what was right in that situation and end race discrimination forever. He says, " At times history and fate meet at a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomatox. So it was last week in Selma, AL." He believed strongly in civil rights and his determination to make things right aided him in succeeding. The determination and will to change things is a leadership quality that is especially important to me. I want to emulate LBJ by standing up for what I believe in and know is right. Finally, LBJ exhibited courage when he had to take over the presidency after Kennedy's assassination. After that awful event LBJ had to step up to the plate with strong leadership in order to calm down the country. He had to have courage to face the nation that was in shock and depression after what had taken place. Overall LBJ definitely displays qualities of a leader. He displays these qualities while fulfilling his duties in the white house as well as at home. He was depicted as a family man and seemed to love his family. In the family picture below he seems to be a loving and dedicated father even to the family's dog Yuki.

Bob Bullock Texas History Museum

After exploring the museum I found that there are two animals that had a major impact on the history of Texas, the Horse and the Longhorn. On the first and second floor of the Museum horses are a major theme. One of the first things you see when you walk into the museum on the first floor is a Spanish conquistador looking very noble perched upon his steed. In the early history of Texas the Spanish horses transformed life for the native peoples. Spanish explorers brought horses to America in 1400 and they were very useful. They used them to hunt buffalo, carry possessions, travel long distances and even as valuable trade items. Horses allowed the people to develop a new mobile way of life. From the people's point of view horses were a great new commodity, but I am not so sure the horses felt the same way. Long days of hard work in the hot texas heat probably wore them out. Although the horses had to work hard they probably developed a sense of loyalty to their owners since horses became such an important part of a Texans life. The second floor reiterates the Texans new found dependence on horses. The development of the idea of a Cowboy became a specifically Texan theme. These cowboys were very dependent on their horses and were always depicted either riding a horse or standing next to it. Another dependency on horses can be seen through the civil war in Texas. During the civil war many Texans fought for the Confederacy by joining the calvary. So many joined the calvary because it was said that, "No Texan walks a yard if he can help it." Upon walking up to the third floor you immediately notice the huge Longhorn statues. Longhorn cattle is a huge part of life in Texas. They are a hybrid breed descended from Spanish stock and English cattle. They are strong, ornery, and they weigh over a ton. They were almost bred to extinction but were saved by the Texas Forest Service. Longhorns were a very important part of ranches in Texas. Again, Texans showed a reliability on animals as a life source. I'm sure the Longhorns loved the large open plains they got to graze and enjoy in Texas. They were probably a little perturbed when they had to travel long distances during cattle drives and they probably did not expect the fate that awaited them. In conclusion, Texans have been very dependent on these two types of animals. Horses were used for a myriad of purposes including trade purposes, driving cattle, carrying supplies and even in the military. Longhorns on the other hand became a staple part of the Texas ranch and are still seen as a symbol of Texas today. 

Sympathetic Imagination

Humane is defined as, "Marked by sympathy with and consideration for the needs and distresses of others; feeling or showing compassion and tenderness towards human beings and the lower animals; kind, benevolent" (anthology 418B). The man in the story from the Anthology Rick Bass was a prime example of what it means to be humane. He had compassion for the animals and rescued the poor stray dogs and even came back three times in order to rescue the second one. He then took them home and took care of them. The dogs returned the favor through unconditional loyalty and love. "People pull their punches, refer to dogs' love with words such as loyalty, obedience, or even submissiveness, but it is love"(anthology 430). This a touching example of the relationship between pet and owner, especially when the owner looks upon the animal with compassion and rescues them from a horrible situation.

This story reminds me of when we rescued our cat, Pancake, after she had been run over by a car. The person who hit her with the car just left her to die and she was badly injured when we found her. We decided to try and save her so we took her to the vet. She is perfectly fine and happy now living with us! She is a little timid but she is the sweetest cat I have ever met and I bet she is very grateful that we chose to save her life. It is the humane thing to do to try and save desperate animals lives. That is why I enjoy writing the craigslist ads so much. I was just informed that another one of my dogs was adopted and that is the best feeling. Knowing that I was able to save a life makes it so worth the effort! 

Most recent dog I wrote a craigslist ad about. I had a tough time finding a family to adopt her. I wrote 4 different ads and almost gave up hope but on the last day before we pulled her from craigslist she got an adoption application!

Emotion, Compassion, the Ethics of Care

I found the readings about people with an absence of emotion fascinating. I have always wondered why it is possible for people to commit such horrible crimes and have no remorse. "This inability to feel their victims' pain allows them to tell themselves lies that encourage their crime" (pg. 413). This quote in the anthology explains how this is possible. Molestors, rapists, and other criminals tell themselves lies in order to condone their actions. The absence of compassion and sympathy is something that most people have a hard time understanding. Compassion is described as, "The feeling or emotion, when a person is moved by the suffering or distress of another, and by the desire to relieve it; pity that inclines one to spare or to succour" (399). Most of us experience compassion quite often in our daily life. Watching a movie, reading a book or even hearing someone retell a story of a tragic event can all stir up compassion in our hearts. I was also interested in the readings about alexithymia, the inability to feel emotions. People with alexithymia, "lack words for their feelings. Indeed, they seem to lack feelings all together, although this may be from their inability to express emotion rather than from an absence of emotion altogether" (409). All I could think about while reading this is how frustrating that must be. Not only for the person with the disorder but for their friends and family as well. We can see this through the story of Gary and Ellen. She was so frustrated with him that she had to send him to therapy. In therapy he tried to express his emotions but found he was confused by them and could not put them into words. Emotion is such an important thing in our world. However, there are people with the inability to express emotion properly and even people, some criminals, who feel no remorse or compassion at all.

Natural Sciences Museum

Giant Sea turtle 

Dragonfly Fossil 

The dinosaur footprints, bones and the Saber toothed tiger all have one main thing in common. They are extinct. Also, all three animals are huge in comparison to us. My feet are miniature compared to the dinosaur's! All three things are meant to be studied; we are meant to learn something from them. They
all seem to have a scientific purpose. Upon analyzing the objects I realized that they displayed a very science orientated relationship between homo sapiens and the animals in the Natural Science Museum. All of the objects outside of the museum were things that we don't know much about; therefore they fascinate us. Likewise, the objects inside the museum evoke this human fascination with things of the past. On the first floor I observed the giant sea turtle. It was a partial skeleton from the cretaceous period. On the third floor I observed the Prehistoric and modern day dragonflies. I learned that the older dragonflies had a large wingspan due to the difference in respiratory biology between the older and modern day dragonflies. When I climbed the steps to the fourth floor the whale skeletons caught my eye. I took notes on the skull of Rodhocetus which was from a 47.5 million year old whale. After looking at all of these things I began to consider what my spirit animal would think if I had embodied the turtle at that moment. I assumed it would feel the same way I would if I was looking in on human remains in glass cases. The animal specimens are depicted on in an objective, scientific manner. This can tell us something about the relationship between animals and homosapiens. To many people animals are just another scientific thing to study. In the future I expect that we will continue to be fascinated with things from the past. I only hope that in the future we will still have the animal species that we have today. I hope we will not have destroyed them causing us to be searching and attempting to explain the remaining specimens as scientists have done in the Natural Science Museum.

Pictures of the Rodhocetus (whale skull)