A lot of fuss has been made about the death of Cecil the lion, a recently deceased denizen of a Zimbabwe national park who was killed, purportedly illegally, by an American dentist. With the sheer number of different animals in the world, it is surprising that the demise of a single member of the big cat family would cause such an international uproar. Yet such is the case. I would venture a guess that more people in the United States know the name of Cecil the lion than know the name of the current vice president. That is the power of trending on social media.
There is nothing wrong with being angry that an animal was killed illegally. All creatures are created by God and they are due some measure of dignity. There are laws against poaching and for good reason. In acting as stewards of God's earth, it is right and fitting to preserve species from extinction. The most recent papal encyclical by Pope Francis, Laudato Si, examines this stewardship in greater detail and wisdom than can be provided in this short post.
But we need to look at the phenomenon of the death of Cecil the lion for an even bigger reason than as a reminder of our human responsibilities. The reaction itself was dangerous, even terrifying. It was myoptic. Suddenly, the death of one lion became national headlines. The death of a single human would not have been as tragic in the eyes of the media (Not to mention the millions of dead children from abortion.) Protestors flocked to the dental practice of the man who killed Cecil carrying signs that called for his death. The moral equivalency here is out of proportion for more than one reason. It is interesting to note that the same people who have trouble stomaching the death penalty would have no qualms about its application on a man who killed a beast. If you would believe Facebook and Twitter, a murderer is little more than a lightweight felon next to the dentist who hunted Cecil.
Give a man annonymity, and you will get stupidity in return. The arguments on the Internet that would like to immortalize Cecil as some kind of figurehead of animal rights are disturbing. Self-appointed pundits are claiming that the lives of animals are worth more than those of humans. These claims tend to fall into one of two categories. About half say that since animals have not created war and racism, they are obviously morally superior to human beings. The other half uses a twisted sort of mathematics. Apparently, since there are only slightly less than 30,000 lions left in the world (Pandera.org,) lions are more valuable than humans as we number seven billion.
Both of these arguments are disgusting.
This is why the Cecil incident is so eye-opening. In this culture of death, people have become so jaded that they have forgotten their own dignity. They've listened to the lies of Satan for too long and mistaken them for truths. This is the pinnacle of an age that has lost sight of its own value. Pornography reduces us to objects of pleasure. Greed reduces us to our savings account. Now we look at the innocence of beasts and envy them, forgetting that their innocence comes from ignorance.
It is time for the truth.
God created both man and beast. But just because the same hand formed them does not mean that they have to be equal in value. The hands of a sculptor can create both a simple cup and the Pieta. In no eyes are the two equal in beauty or worth. The same is true for us. God did not create the animals in His image. It is in man that the likeness of God can be found.
The Catechism has the perfect answer for our moral dearth of a world:
"The hierarchy of creatures is expressed by the order of the 'six days,' from the less perfect to the more perfect. God loves all his creatures and takes care of each one, even the sparrow. Nevertheless, Jesus said: 'You are of more value than many sparrows,' or again: 'Of how much more value is a man than a sheep!' Man is the summit of the Creator's work,"
Jesus did not die for Cecil the lion. He died for you and me. Humans are inherently superior to animals.
Deus Volt!
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