by Marshall Chisholm

Created on: July 25, 2010

All life is in the service of other life. This is a philosophy of the circle of life; we exist due to the existence of others. There is a lot of hype circulating the world about becoming vegetarian, vegan, pacifistic, simplistic and becoming more eco-aware. I am not a vegetarian, I am not completely pacifistic, and I am though I am an environmental science major, I am not completely eco-aware. This article is not to bash those ideals, in fact I praise them, however I would like to express the deeper meaning behind them which goes far deeper than a current trend in society. Respect for life is a key component to an honorable lifestyle, however it should not be bred from mass ideals and society patterns. Respect for life should come from within you, from your understanding you share with other living creatures, and above all else, should not be misconstrued. Think about my first line in this article, “all life is in the service of other life”: this is a line quoted from a Frank Herbert novel, in which he speaks about a people attuned with nature both in the kindness of nature and its harsh realities. Life is not only kindness, in many ways it is tough and astringent. Nature is indiscriminant in how it treats living things; in order to survive, a creature must adapt and make choices everyday that make the difference between living and dying. True respect for life comes not only from living and let live, it also comes from understanding death and the necessity of taking the life of another creature.

            If you are still reading this article, I hope it is out of interest and not disgust; I only wish to convey the truth behind vegetarianism and warriorism according to the strongest followers of the ideals. Today, when you see a person in the grocery store, or you are talking to them in passing or whatever the case may be, and they say they do not eat meat, what are you first thoughts?  They may be along the lines of: “wow, that is really commendable; they give up those luxuries to help save the lives of other living creatures” or, “How pretentious, thinking they are so high and mighty simply because they made a choice to not eat meat”. For me, I feel no envy, contempt, or reverence, at least not initially. What goes through my mind is a question: “What is driving their choice?” I want to know why they have made such a life altering decision. Being vegetarian

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