What a Difference a Week Makes

"I think I could turn and live with animals*, 

they are so placid, and self-contain'd, 

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition, 

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, 

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, 

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, 

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago…"

–Walt Whitman

 

I stopped the quote there, for I believe animals can be unhappy, which Whitman says they are not.

We have a new animal, a happy animal, a dog my grandson named Zeke.

I just learned that the word animal comes from the Latin word "soul."

Zeke is a German Shepherd mix. Small for a German Shepard. He's a lover, sweet and gentle. My daughter chose him from The Greenhill Animal Shelter. 

He has three legs.

He had a genetic deformity in his right leg. The RV Outlet in Eugene, Oregon, paid for his surgery, a generosity for which I am incredibly grateful. They gave that dog an opportunity for a happy life and gave us a happy dog.

When my daughter first told me about him, I was reluctant to have another dog enter our two dogs and one-cat household, but within a day of having him here, I was in love.

One serendipitous part of this sudden experience was that a couple of days before my daughter learned that her dog Laffe has cancer, she felt called to look at dogs at the shelter, and while there she fell in love with this three-legged dog.

I was drawn to Whitman's poem, for this dog does not whine about his condition. He hops about, dropping joy on his three paw prints and us.

Regarding whether animals have souls, a subject I ran into this week, how in the heck would we know? People used to argue about how many angels could stand on the head of a pin, and arguments regarding philosophical thought still rage.

I vote that if humans have a soul, and I believe they do—then so do the animals. To me, the spark of life indicates a soul. (Hey, plants are alive too.)

Gary Kowalski took up the daring question of the soul in his book, The Souls of Animals) — an inquiry into the "spiritual lives" of whooping cranes, elephants, jackdaws, gorillas, songbirds, horses, dogs, and cats. At its center is the idea that spirituality — which he defines as "the development of a moral sense, the appreciation of beauty, the capacity for creativity, and the awareness of one's self within a larger universe as well as a sense of mystery and wonder about it all" — is a natural byproduct of "the biological order and in the ecology shared by all life."

Do fleas go to heaven? If they do, they are fed a replicated formula and keep their mitts off the other critters.

 

Calling all Artists and Animal Lovers

"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”

—John F Kennedy

 

The long arm of our present Administration knows no bounds—food, health defense, media, books, Medicare, grants, and now art and animals. Folks, is this really what we wanted?

 

Why is Our President chairing the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C

Oh yeah. He wants to control everything. What we listen to, what we watch, what we read, what we eat. He doesn’t even seem to take pleasure in winning, but wants to crush the opponent. Do you think he and his cohort are cutting back on any of their luxuries?

Why is this happening?

We, the people, are more than him. He showed his colors before the election, and people voted for him anyway. Long ago, I heard that when an organization interferes with your food, they are a cult. Watch them, no matter how good they sound.

"In 1958, former President Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation to create a national arts center in Washington. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, raised $30 million for the project. The building was dedicated to Kennedy two months after his assassination in 1963.”

Fast forward to 2025:

"Several entertainers have announced that they are severing ties with the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C., now that the President has assumed the chairmanship of the organization."

Screenwriter Shonda Rhimes known for her work on shows such as Grey's Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. Actress and producer Issa Rae, who created and starred in HBO's Insecure, announced on Instagram that she was canceling her upcoming sold-out appearance. When visiting the Kennedy Center's website for her event, users encounter a 404 error message.

"Hey D.C. Fam," she wrote, "Thank you so much for selling out the Kennedy Center for 'An Evening With [Me]'. Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums, I've decided to cancel my appearance at this venue."

Singer and songwriter Ben Folds announced on Facebook that he is resigning as an advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra.

"Not for me," he said. He thanked his colleagues, and added, "Mostly, and above all, I will miss the musicians of our nation's symphony orchestra – just the best!"

The rock band Low Cut Connie also pulled out of their scheduled performance: "I was very excited to perform as part of this wonderful institution's Social Impact series, which emphasizes community, joy, justice and equity through the arts. Upon learning that this institution that has run non-partisan for 54 years is now chaired by President Trump himself and his regime, I decided I will not perform there."

If that wasn't enough, now he is going after The US Fish and Wildlife Service, the nation's only government agency dedicated to conserving plants and animals.

*Vox has learned that the agency has frozen its vast portfolio of international conservation grants. The agency, which supports wildlife protection in the US and overseas, ordered many organizations it funds to stop work related to their grants and cut its communication with them. According to USFWS's internal communication, which was shared anonymously with Vox, the agency has frozen grants for international projects that amount to tens of millions of dollars.

 
 

The freeze jeopardizes dozens of projects to conserve wildlife worldwide, from imperiled sea turtles in Central America to elephants in Africa. Grant programs from the federal government protect species whose habitats straddle borders, and they also benefit Americans by reducing the risk of pathogens like coronaviruses from spilling into human populations.

Stop this human train wreck.

Stand up to a bully.