No point in crying over the killing of bears, elephants, butterflies

„Don’t lament the fact that, in spite of what environmentalists say, certain animal breeds are still being exterminated. There is no point in crying over the killing of bears, elephants, butterflies… We must make it impossible to feel the urge to kill. The question must be asked: how is it possible that humans are indifferent to the wonder that is the unfolding of life? Despotic authority has been curbed by religions that have established divine power over the power of men. This has circumscribed the scope of human authority, confined it within selective limits, but remains arbitrary – and restricts instinctive acts instead of substituting them with other convictions. Think of Hitler, who banned hunting, but exterminated hundreds of thousands of humans. Evolution occurs by degrees: man is considered a superior being to his dog and his wife. When we admit that man and woman are superior to the dog, we will have gone one step further. But there remains the idea that one is superior to the other. It remains to get out of the spirit of competition, and to consider that there are humans and dogs and, by extension, all other forms of life. Those of the virgin forest are very much threatened by the principles of life in our consumer society. It is this society that must be questioned. My reflection is not abstract. It is motivated by an activity: I have created a place for unusual acts, the scope of which we do not suspect, but which are not only likely to transform morals but are also exemplary of a new society, the hoped-for one, which will succeed the competitive society whose agony is becoming more and more apparent. These are reflections that inspire me in my activity as Servant of the Painting Play. But also, if I have created this function and the place for its realisation, it is because of my convictions. Cause and effect are complementary; are inseparable. “ – Arno Stern, 17 September 2020

source: https://www.facebook.com/arnosternofficial/photos/a.10150211620828701/10158942694988701/
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