Why is it that most people are fine with the idea of putting a pet to sleep, but they find it immoral and unacceptable to do something similar with people?
I have a theory as to why this is. Many of us see our pets like little kids. They're sweet, innocent and uncorrupted by the world in which they live. You can have the best or worst day of your life and they'll run up to you and sit on your lap or give you a kiss, with their tail wagging perhaps. It doesn't even matter what you say to them. It all depends on the tone of your voice. You could speak to them in four different languages in a two-minute span and they wouldn't know the difference. They'd continue to love you. There's no obligation to go out and buy them a bouquet of flowers on Valentine's Day or to get them something expensive for their birthday. All they want is some food, water and attention and they'll be happy. Due to all this, I think it pains most people to see pets suffer, because we don't feel that they deserve that. They're innocent, sweet, have not been corrupted, are loving and the only time they made you mad is when they made a statement about not getting enough attention. So, when they don't seem happy anymore, don't move around much, don't eat a whole lot and seem to have lost all love for life, we're not as hesitant to say, "Maybe we should put him/her to sleep. I hate to see him/her suffer like that."
But with people, it's a different story. We're all the same species, know that none of us are innocent, that we've been corrupted in one way or another and in an odd way, I think somewhere deep down inside, we believe that humans deserve to suffer, in knowing all that we do about our species. Maybe dogs have the same outlook on dogs as we do about humans, they see their owners as superior to all others, so they don't believe that euthanasia should exist in the human world.
It's also possible that many humans believe that we're the superior species, so the lives of our pets are less important than our own. Some may even compare it to suicide and giving up on life.
I doubt too many people would admit to the first potential reason I listed, but I can see more admitting to the second and third potential reasons. It's just difficult for many people to compare pets with humans and that's understandable for a variety of reasons, but pets are like children in many ways. They can brighten our lives on any given day with a simple smile or wag of the tail.
I have a theory as to why this is. Many of us see our pets like little kids. They're sweet, innocent and uncorrupted by the world in which they live. You can have the best or worst day of your life and they'll run up to you and sit on your lap or give you a kiss, with their tail wagging perhaps. It doesn't even matter what you say to them. It all depends on the tone of your voice. You could speak to them in four different languages in a two-minute span and they wouldn't know the difference. They'd continue to love you. There's no obligation to go out and buy them a bouquet of flowers on Valentine's Day or to get them something expensive for their birthday. All they want is some food, water and attention and they'll be happy. Due to all this, I think it pains most people to see pets suffer, because we don't feel that they deserve that. They're innocent, sweet, have not been corrupted, are loving and the only time they made you mad is when they made a statement about not getting enough attention. So, when they don't seem happy anymore, don't move around much, don't eat a whole lot and seem to have lost all love for life, we're not as hesitant to say, "Maybe we should put him/her to sleep. I hate to see him/her suffer like that."
But with people, it's a different story. We're all the same species, know that none of us are innocent, that we've been corrupted in one way or another and in an odd way, I think somewhere deep down inside, we believe that humans deserve to suffer, in knowing all that we do about our species. Maybe dogs have the same outlook on dogs as we do about humans, they see their owners as superior to all others, so they don't believe that euthanasia should exist in the human world.
It's also possible that many humans believe that we're the superior species, so the lives of our pets are less important than our own. Some may even compare it to suicide and giving up on life.
I doubt too many people would admit to the first potential reason I listed, but I can see more admitting to the second and third potential reasons. It's just difficult for many people to compare pets with humans and that's understandable for a variety of reasons, but pets are like children in many ways. They can brighten our lives on any given day with a simple smile or wag of the tail.
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