Mama Sophie nurses eight pups

At first I thought I could not blog on this week's topic as I do not see myself as a person with one obsession.  I reflected for a moment  on the many times my thoughts race ahead of me and get away from me (by choice mostly but not always), and where they go; what makes those around me roll their eyes because I've taken the topic they presented off on a detour to a place they recognize I've taken them before.  When I was growing up it was sexism and the many attempts i made to have my civil rights activist father  see sexism as a racism against women;that got his 'oh not again' eye roll.  Later it was the plight of wild animals  with my dad insisiting that people matter more than animals and me red faced and exasperated trying my fourth grade best to get him to understand that without the animals there are no people; that without the water and the air and the soil and the plants, there is nothing.  And still to this day i find myself almost every week correcting mistakes made by interpretations on science.  Interpreting results without putting them into the context of animal behavior and the animal mind and world makes those conclusions wrong and off the mark.  And not coincidentally, the mistakes that are made  just so happen to  lead to results concluding that humans are the best, smartest, kindest most wonderful creatures and all others just cannot function at as 'high' a level. 

Well, i've got news for you humans on an ego trip.   Animals are actually higher functioning than we are.  Don't believe me? listen to my radio shows and you'll clue in and stop believing this nonsense of human superiority.  Despite consistent and constant attempts to understand and evaluate animal abilities by comparison to human strengths and standards, all it takes is context and even those tests and results prove that animals function far better than humans. 

All these topics have a thread running through them of injustice caused by the human need for us vs them style thinking, whether it be man vs woman, white vs black or animal vs human.  The world is too complex for this type of small thinking.  My obsession is to correct this human species ego trip and uncover it so that animals are understood better for their incredible attributes, needs, wants, skills, and abilities.