Quote
The_Bad_Guy
It's been long purported that Mahatma Gandhi once said, "I hold that the more helpless the creature the more entitled it is to the protection by man, from the cruelty of man."

Maybe I'm a fool, but I can't help but agree.

No. That's not foolish at all. That belief, in fact, is the core belief at the root of every faith in world history. That the poor, the destitute, the sick, the disabled, the marginalized, etc. etc. . . . the way we see and act toward them is really the true measure of the heart. The animal kingdom is obviously a huge part of that. Though no one tops the Jains. To them, even stepping on an ant goes heavily against their beliefs. Unfortunately, over time, too many organized faith groups turn away from this message and end up promoting the belief that "punishing the wicked" is the Prime Directive. Of course, choosing who "the wicked" are gets us into a thorny mess, as exemplified by, say, the Salem Witch Trials. Fascinating book on that by Sarah Schiff.

[www.stacyschiff.com]

Nietzsche had a famous encounter with a horse, which I also retell in the latest novel. A man was whipping his horse in the streets of Turin; Nietzsche sees this, runs toward the horse, throws his arms around the poor animal to protect it from the brute, weeps, collapses, and ends up at a sanitarium for the rest of his life. Ten more years.

I have always admired people who make it their life's work to protect animals and all helpless creatures, especially from the cruelty of (in)human beings.