I Have A Dream

We just celebrated Martin Luther King Day. It is such an honor to have shared this planet with a hero like Dr. King, even if only for a little while. He was a champion who never backed down from what was right, and who always fought for justice. He changed history forever and improved millions of lives. Although he accomplished so very much in his lifetime, we still have so much more to overcome. During his life he helped accomplish equal rights for many, but there is still so much inequality going on in our world. While there is no legal slavery for humans now, there is so much slavery happening for non-human animals. There is still so much suffering, pain, struggle - in cages, in research labs, and on factory farms across our nation.

On Monday, we rescued a piglet. Human hands took her away from her mom, and were raising her for slaughter. She was left with no rights at all, no voice, and no hope. Only eight weeks old and already so alone and so scared, fighting for her own survival. Her luck changed when we were able to save her and bring her to the sanctuary of The Gentle Barn TN. In time, she will come to trust human hands and human intentions. In time, she will come to learn that our hands can rub her belly, scratch her back, and feed her treats. In time, the fear will be dislodged from her memory and she’ll be free of her past, free of fear, and free of her terrifying start in life.

Why do animals have to go through this at all?! Why do we have the right to rip babies away from their mommies?! Why do we have the right to treat them as objects and buy and sell them as they once did Africans? Why do so many animals try to run away and save themselves, like slaves once did? Why do sanctuaries have to save them, like the Underground Railroad?

Once women were seen as inferior to men. Women were not allowed to vote, or to own a house or business. We have gained equal rights for women in the feminist movement. Women are now legally equal to men. People with darker complexions were once seen as inferior to those of lighter complexions. They could not vote, or attend the same schools as whites. Through much suffering and struggle, and through the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, we finally triumphed over those inequalities and now have legal freedom for people of all complexions. Jews once were seen as inferior to those of the Arian race, in Nazi Germany. Millions of Jews and minorities were killed in Europe. Through the Second World War, justice prevailed and brought equality and freedom to Jews and Gentiles alike. We have evolved so much and overcome, can we take it a step further and create equal rights for human and non-human animals alike? Aren’t we ready? Isn’t it time to end slavery completely?

Flag burnings, marches, and demonstrations brought justice for women in America. A World War brought justice for Jews in Germany. A Civil war brought justice to African Americans. To bring justice to animals we don’t need war! We need only purchase things that are cruelty free, and stop purchasing products that harm animals. It is so easy! Changing what we eat and buy is such a small sacrifice that can bring freedom and peace to so many beings who are suffering in cages right now. These changes will bring so much more sustainability to the environment and health to our bodies as well.

I have a dream! I dream of a world where we walk barefoot on soft, fertile earth. Where we walk through forests that are so tall that the trees touch the sky. Where abundant gardens and groves feed us. Where the earth shakes under our feet as wild horses gallop past, free, as we wave to them. Where geese fly overhead, honking, as we send them love. Where crystal clear brooks lead to clean, pristine oceans where the marine life is thriving and there grows coral of every color. Where we sit in fields surrounded by the buzz of the bees and the whoosh of butterflies as they float and dance around us. Where we hold hands, and hug cows, and cradle chickens, and there is peace, and freedom, and gentleness, and joy for all of us. Let’s all continue Dr. Martin Luther King’s work. Let’s all do our part to bring about more peace, more freedom, more gentleness for all creatures, for all animals, everywhere. We can do this! It is time!

By Ellie Laks
Founder, The Gentle Barn