I have never considered myself to be an environmental advocate. The carbon footprint I leave behind on a daily basis is probably larger than it should be. It's not that I am actively and deliberately destroying the planet. I just comply when it's convenient. If I have to go out of my way or spend more money to be green, it just doesn't happen. Hell, if Johnny Appleseed saw the package of paper plates sitting in my pantry right now, I'm certain he would have just thrown in the towel on his whole tree planting venture. The environment, however, is a cause that I could get behind. Living in Seattle really helped me to appreciate this effort a little more. The beauty of the trees and the mountains and the environment that has been protected is amazing. With all of that being said, I find it interesting when my children make choices to take steps to protect the environment since this is not a point that I emphasize on a daily basis.
The environment is one thing, animals are another. I would never begin to say that I care in any way for animals. Now, I don't promote cruelty to animals by any means. I would never tolerate any type of abuse. But, I am going to eat cheeseburgers and chicken and steak and I will NEVER feel an ounce of guilt. My father has always been into hunting. So, this is just something with which I will always be ok. Well, I have recently discovered that my son, apparently, is against killing animals. You would never know this by watching what he eats. You would never know this by his lack of desire to tend to his one pet that he owns. Actually, until yesterday, I was completely unaware.
We have more flies in our house right now due to my youngest daughter constantly leaving the doors open. So, I was swatting flies as I was attempting to get ready yesterday morning. I finally got to the point where I yelled for my son and told him that it was his job that day to get rid of every fly in the house. So, he began by attempting to capture with his bare hands the fly that had been annoying me all morning. After observing this bafoonery for a few moments, I finally asked him how that was working out for him. Just as these words left my lips, wouldn't you know it, he caught the stupid thing. I just rolled my eyes and told him to throw it away and wash his hands. Instead, he left the room. When he came back in a few seconds later, I asked him if he threw it away. "He wasn't dead so I threw him outside." he replied. "I don't like killng things." Well, this was news to me. So, I immediately attempt to show him the holes in this new resolve of his by coming back with, "So....you aren't planning on going hunting with grandpa when he wants to take you?" My son is very intelligent. Sometimes he is smarter than I would like for him to be. He's also very quick. Like his mother, he's not usually one of those people who leaves a conversation only to think of all of the good things that he could have said when it's too late. He's on it. So, I was prepared for him to fully defend his position. I didn't have anything better to do with my time than to argue with my son over this topic. I was ready for just about anything he had to say. Little did I know that there was no preparing for the response that I was about to receive. Never in a million years could I have predicted the words and the conviction that was about to be delivered.
"There's a difference!", he proclaims. So, at this point I am prepared to hear all of the noble facts about killing a deer to include eating the meat for nutrition and using the fur for warmth and whatever else he could possibly find. Once again, however, the child never ceases to amaze me.
"There's a difference! It's not like I'm gonna hang a bug's head on my wall!!"
I've got nothin'!
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