Ponderings

[3rdragon]

There was a story on NPR this morning about pet health insurance.

I would like to say that I love animals. They make our lives immeasurably better in so many ways. There is a cat in Philadelphia who will leave me heartbroken when he dies.

That said, I'm really not sure about pet health insurance. Yes, in my perfect world, no animal would be put down for medical issues that could be easily treated. But I have difficulty countenancing giving a level of medical security to our pets that we can't guarantee to our citizens.

Thoughts?


On other moral issues:
-I believe that, as a Christian, I should love my neighbor.
-I also believe that, as a Christian, I should not lie (less obvious, but I take a certain bible verse to mean that I should not swear to tell the truth and I affirm that I am telling the truth instead, which to me implies that I've been telling the truth this whole time.

Most of you are aware that I have a history of not getting along with my ex-next-door-neighbor A.
I saw her in the dining hall yesterday, and we smiled and waved and generally behaved like we liked each other.

I do not like her.

So here's the question:
Is it better to lie by my actions and have the outward appearance of loving my neighbor?
Or to be honest and not like her at all.

Clearly the best option is to actually like her, but I'm not that far yet.

Comments

[godhandler.livejournal.com]

Pet health insurances seems silly.

My cat, Figaro, has been hit by a car. Twice. The first time he healed pretty quickly, but the second time he had problems. His jaw was broken and he reacted negatively to the rubber feeding tube they put through his nose. My family decided that no animal is worth the money (or the pain and suffering) for the procedure that the vet was suggesting. We decided that if Figgy wanted to live then, by some divine intervention, he would.

He's now twenty years old and still rocking the roost. Point is pets are animals, not people. If they want to survive for as long as they can, they will.

[animangel.livejournal.com]

There is a difference between being nice to people and being civil. You do not have to smile and wave and act like a friend toward someone you dislike. I don't even think you should. However, you should still be polite and treat her with the respect any living thing deserves.

I know I make it a point to treat everyone politely even if I'd much rather be stabbing them repeatedly. However, if said person ever asked me to help them out with something (and it was clearly not dire need - but that's another thing -), I would happily tell them no. Repeatedly.

[rumorofrain.livejournal.com]

The problem with your argument against pet insurance is that it's not an either/or situation: if people don't buy health insurance, that won't somehow provide insurance for other humans.

Pet insurance is a luxury good, purchased by individuals. It's something people buy when they have enough money, foresight, and love for their pets to do so. It doesn't mean they value their pets more than they value other humans. It means they're trying to be financially savvy by making plans in case of emergency. It's the same reason people buy human health insurance: to try to save money in the long run.

That said, I don't have pet insurance. Pet health insurance plans tend to exclude a lot of procedures, so it makes more sense to me to have a savings account for pet health emergencies instead of paying money to a service that may or may not pay up when I need it.

Everyone has different priorities, and expresses them in different ways. I happen to think that pets are not commodities, to be cared for when it's convenient and left to suffer or die when it's not convenient. I think if people are going to take animals into their homes, they're signing up to be responsible for that animal's welfare, to the best of their ability. Yes, there will be times when people have to make tough financial decisions about whether to try to prolong Fido's life with an expensive surgery or not. That's not what I'm concerned about. It's when people tell vets, "Just put him down; it'll be cheaper for me to get a new puppy" that I find appalling. (That's a true story, and too many stories like that is why an acquaintance of mine no longer works at an emergency vet hospital.)

No, animals aren't people. But they are living creatures that can feel pain, and it's our responsibility to make sure they suffer as little as possible while under our care. If that means paying hundreds of dollars to get my (free) cat's teeth pulled when they become painful to her, so be it. If it means paying to giving her a merciful, quick death when I can't prevent her suffering anymore, I will give it to her. But as long as I can take care of her needs, I will.

[relique.livejournal.com]

I agree. I would also add "fake it til you make it"-- in this context: you did not like her, among other reasons, because she did not respect your rights and desires. Now, I'm not suggested you move next to her again, but you do share a campus, and it's nice that she can at least be respectful enough to share a campus with you. And it's perfectly reasonable to respond to general pleasantries with a reaction that rewards that (very basic) kind of respect. And if the two of you figure out how to share a campus with each other, you might later learn how to share a building, dining hall, or table with each other, even if you never get to "hall" or "wall".

Loving your neighbor is sometimes a process. Being nice to her very well may make it easier to FEEL nice about her. Or it might not. But at least you're trying, at least you're engaging in the process.

[pulsebeat.livejournal.com]

I don't think that verse means you actually have to love or even like your neighbor... you just have to be kind to her and treat her well. And I don't think treating her like you'd want to be treated counts as lying-- it's just being a decent person, after all.

[rhyolight04.livejournal.com]

What the two previous comments said.

Sometimes people are easiest not to hate from a distance. Politeness is a way to ease the difficulties of living in a society. Maintaining a civil society is REALLY important.

And, to tie the two threads together, it's a lot easier to love the being who loves you back, in your apartment, than the being you don't know, freezing in your alley. I would be nice if we really felt other humans were our kin, but I think there are too many of us. Not a reason not to try to treat people justl, though.

[eumeliannyikha.livejournal.com]

Forcing oneself to like someone one doesn't care for reminds me of the final tearjerker moments of 1984.

I know I'm not Christian, so we're not exactly looking at the universe through the same interpretive lens, but I recommend concentrating more on developing strong connections with the friends you have than trying to extend your Biblical beliefs to too wide a human population. As long as you don't commit human rights abuses, you're probably fine. :D