Myth # 76 : " But there are no moral absolutes ."
Myth # 76 : " But there are no moral absolutes ."
If you sincerely believe that the mere words " there are no moral absolutes " or " don ' t criticize my personal morality " provide a safe haven for those who wish to continue supporting the confinement , the exploitation and the murder of billions of farmed animals all over the world , then you must also grant the same non-judgmental acceptance to all the world ' s child abusers , all the world ’ s serial rapists and all the world ’ s mass murderers ... And even if you thereafter amend your statement to claim that moral relativism only applies to the treatment of non-humans , then you will still be forced to accept – if not even applaud – the violent cruelties perpetrated in the world ' s most repulsive dolphin massacres , its filthiest puppy mills , its most fetid dog fighting rings , its most depressing roadside zoos , its most barbaric whale hunts , its most vile fur farms , and its most diabolical animal experimentation asylums .
Without a doubt , even the most callously conditioned meat-eater must admit that this doesn ' t " feel right " at all – that it just doesn ' t make any moral sense to abuse any innocent animals in any way merely for our own entertainment , our own pleasure or our own convenience . And even as a purely practical matter , we must pause and wonder – if the morality of animal cruelty is indeed truly relative , where are all the meat & milk industry-sponsored films & documentaries convincing the world ' s vegans to go back to supporting animal abuse ? … Seriously , where are they ?
Moral discernment is the fundamental basis of every legal system that has ever existed over the course of human history , and yet the indignant words " Don ' t judge me " have become a resort for many who don ' t want their unethical behaviors questioned by the compassionate or the concerned . And yet the vast majority of people are decent & dignified enough to never accept " Don ' t judge me " as a defense for human slavery – or the abuse of children – or the rape of women – or the torture of prisoners – or the murder of the innocent ... And as such , neither can such hollow words provide rest or reprieve for those who commit the same atrocities to innocent non-humans .
Indeed , I have just as much a right to assign a moral rejection of your discrimination against non-humans as you have to assign repugnance to any hate-crimes spawned by racism or sexism or homophobia . And I also have just as much a right to morally denounce the incredible cruelties you directly or indirectly inflict on my nonhuman cousins as you have to decry the imprisonment of the innocent , the rape of the subjugated or the murder of all those too weak to prevent the same .
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