Interviewing My 7-Year-Old Niece

 Mackenzie:

"If the planet gets sick, we get sick.... If the planet dies, we die. The trees help us breathe."

"Animals being hurt makes me sad. Because they are special and part of this world."

How can it ever be boring, at all?

Wise words courtesy of Steve Roggenbuck:

"We are animals on a rock in space. Sometimes we forgot that, because we have jobs, school, political systems, debt, law, clothes, television stations."

"Sometimes, I wanna shake people and say, 'Are you paying attention to what is going on? It's raining. Water is falling from the sky.'"

"And I mean we have the sunrise. And I mean, we have the pink light on the bottom of the clouds during a sunrise. And there used to be dinosaurs, on our planet. Probably in the place you are now."

"I like being around people who are dancing, because it seems like the closest that people usually come to directly celebrating the fact that they're alive."

"What I really want, is that moment when somebody brings it up. When somebody refuses to let pointless filler and formalities use up our time with each other. I just want somebody to say 'Hey, right now is our life. And I'm grateful that this is the one I get. I'm grateful that you are in it. I'm grateful that we get this moment together.' I just want to say that, and sometimes I'm too nervous to say it."

"..These are the moments when I know I'm fully alive. When I'm looking for it, I can find those moments all the time."

"And even when it means being fully sad, crying alone in my apartment after leaving my girlfriend of 6 years. Crying alone on a train after touring for 9 months."

"...I just stop and try not to think anything and just be in the place that I am."

"I don't want be in haze. I don't want to coast through any of it. I don't want to regret later that I didn't pay attention now. I don't want to sit through it like I'm waiting for something better."

"Sometimes, you can forget about the moon but then one day when you're walking out of a building, there it is in the sky.... and it kind of reminds you that you are on a rock in space, too."

"This is our family photo album. We are animals on a rock in space. We are part of this gigantic, confusing, brutal and awe-inspiring world. And it’s not boring to be here. And how can it ever be boring at all."

Sixth "Great" Extinction

Sixth "Great" Extinction

Before you dream of me tonight,
 you must first know that we named a geologic era after you.
 You mark time by 3's
   -Species per hour, that is.
 The metronome has clicked 24 times since my morning alarm sounded.
 I heard you got the Western Black Rhino.
  -Pity

The dog wags his tail.
 He doesn't know about you.
 His kin are dying.
 My kin are dead.

We build our lives in squares.
 You take lives from circles.
 Lost voices echo off concrete floors
 And invade my dreams.

You're doing this.
 No,
 No,
 We're doing this.

We are all Earthlings.

I'm disgusted. Appalled. Reminded why I am angry with humankind and our ignorance.
I just watched the documentary, Earthlings (2007).
Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, this documentary discusses humankind's blatant disrespect for animals. From puppy mills,  CAFO's, slaughterhouses, and medical laboratories, this movie shows the horrors of how we treat animals and look the other way. The amount of suffering is unfathomable and disgusting. I gagged after viewing several scenes, and occasionally had to veer my concentration away from the screen. Some scenes were just too intense, too painful to watch.
Much of this documentary was captured by hidden cameras. It showed animals being thrown around, tortured, having their throats slit, and being hung until they died. You can see animals being driven crazy, being starved, and being housed in cages that are much too small for them. It's heartbreaking, to say the least.
The idea that the filmmakers constantly return to is that we are all earthlings. We all deserve to exist, with minimal pain, on this planet. Humans are not superior or the only sentient beings on earth. Numerous animals have their own form (and degree) of intelligence and ability to feel pain. We shouldn't capitalize on their pain to make our lives more comfortable.
I would also like to recognize that small, family-owned and organic farms are trying to fight against the system of animal cruelty. The big corporations, seeking monetary profit over all other things, seem to be the biggest culprit to the animal cruelty. Maybe the answer is either vegetarianism or to buy locally and figure out where your food comes from.
Be aware of the types of suffering you are inflicting indirectly, because of the decisions and lifestyles you choose.