Immanuel Kant said that.
I took the image of the lizard in my hand after this little one had taken a long car trip on the hood of my car. It wasn’t going to survive in the parking lot, so I caught it and took it to a bush nearby. When the lizard was on the car it was dark brown. Once I caught it, the lizard bit my hand and quickly began to turn green. It must have noticed that I wasn’t going to crush it and the warmth of my palm created a more soothing atmosphere than a fast moving car.
This was in no way a heroic act and the quote above has no virtue.
Taking care of animals and the environment is the baseline. Really. That’s the bare minimum that anyone can ever do. If you’re afraid to pick up a turtle that’s trying to cross the road, they’re also afraid to be picked up by a clothed monkey that just exited a metal monster. After the traumatic experience, you’ll both be happy when it’s over. Just make sure to have some hand sanitizer in your car at all times.
When I was in college, I was on my way to class from the Metro Rail station and there were some Hare Krishnas selling items. I stopped to look and saw a t-shirt of a man with a cow’s head slaughtering a cow with a man’s head. I loved the Golden Rule message behind the image. So I bought it right away. It was one of my favorite t-shirts that I owned. I still wonder how I lost it. Maybe I’m just a tree-hugging hippie, but I can’t understand why so many people feel like killing creatures for no reason is acceptable. I see so much road kill in our suburban streets. There is absolutely no reason for it. The speed limit isn’t high, there’s plenty of light, and it’s not like armadillos and turtles are bolting out onto the middle of the street.