Moral Ground 2010: A Responsibility to Fido and Fluffy

“Unlike humans, animals cannot defend themselves. The animals are not the ones damaging things here, we are. Why punish those who are innocent?”

~ Stacie Kreiser, Pre-Veterinary senior at GVSU
 

Ghandi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” What change do we want to be in this world and how do we want to be remembered in this lifetime?  Around the world, people are asking themselves, do we have a moral or ethical responsibility to preserve the planet for the future?

Stacie Kreiser is one such person. A Behavioral Science and Pre Veterinary senior at Grand Valley State University here in Grand Rapids, Kreiser has always had a curiosity about the world around her. “I consider myself a philosopher of sorts, I wonder about the mysteries of the world, trying to analyze what happens around you in the world and make sense of it. A lot of people would call it trying to find the meaning of life. But what is the meaning of life really?”

The meaning of life is something that varies from person to person, and she believes the environment is a key aspect of determining that answer. Establishing moral ground with oneself, according to Kreiser, is the number one way to come to terms with life around you. 

One possible aspect of understanding the world is determining whether we have a responsibility to the world around us. Kreiser believes that we have a responsibility to the animals around us and to keep the Earth stable. Mother Earth will not be here forever, and we are destroying a little bit of her every day. To answer the official Moral Ground 2010 question, Kreiser looks within her line of work.

“The foundation of Veterinary medicine is similar. One must constantly use their moral principles to make ethical decisions on behalf of the animals, the owners, and the health of the general public. So what morals you hold influence others around you and it becomes a greater picture than just yourself.”

Kreiser firmly believes that we have a responsibility to the animals to preserve our planet.  “When you think in terms of the animals, you are trying to give a voice to someone who can't speak. People need to understand that there is more in the world than themselves.”  

We always think of our animals in affectionate ways, but she brings up a valid point. Do we realize what we are doing to those around us, even Fido and Fluffy, the family pets?

“You have to love the animals and accept unconditional love back from them, after all they cannot give actual materialistic 'gifts' back and we need to see that. We co-inhabit our world with the animals, existing in harmony with them. If we destroy the world we live in, we also destroy their world," she says. “Unlike humans, animals cannot defend themselves. The animals are not the ones damaging things here, we are. Why punish those who are innocent?”

Kreiser is passionate about her own animals; she would do anything for them and expects nothing back in return. After the passing of her dog Rex, a companion for fourteen years, Kreiser decided to do something to remember him. Using a phrase that she came across on the Internet, she designed a tattoo and had it tattooed on her back just weeks ago. “This quote is something I now live by. I don’t know who wrote it, but they were a sheer genius,” remarks Kreiser. “What we do for ourselves dies with us. But what we do for others remains eternally” is the quote, and it works very well for our issue at hand. 

People come and go, but Kreiser believes that one thing will remain constant, animals and their love for their owners. We owe it to them to preserve the world for the future.