What's Your Compassion?

"Hey, why don't you break off a piece of your meat and give it to those cats."

That started a whole conversation about compassion. I guess it makes sense to have a nice conversation with your friend about starving creatures while you're having dinner. Irony? Hmmm.

"What's your compassion," she asked.

Well, I'm not one to fed stray cats. I won't hurt them or torment them, nor would I make fun of their destitute situation and the fact that they cannot collect welfare. No. I'm not cruel. But I'm still not about to give them my dinner.

I explained that by letting the cats starve, I'm actually doing them a favor. By hastening their death in this mortal world, I'm giving them a quicker opportunity to be reincarnated as something higher up the evolutionary ladder.

By not feeding the stray cats, I'm letting them learn how to fend for themselves. If everyone feeds a stray, that stray will become too dependent on hand outs. Tough love.

And also, by not feeding them, I'm letting nature take its course. Humans tend to make a mess out of the environment whenever we interfere with nature. Who am I to interrupt the grand design. What if I had fed this cat and it had lived a day longer than it should. In the future, it ends up stepping on a micro-organism that would have evolved into the cure for cancer. Man, would my face be red.

As I explained my position, my friend fed the cats my dinner with my tacit approval.

Actions? Words? Hmmm.