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I received the following letter by e-mail. It was originally sent to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. It concerns the unreasonable laws and regulations passed in Florida (specifically, Brevard County) to "protect" the manatee - or sea cow as some of you may know it. However, the author uses the manatee issue to address the bigger problems of wacko environmentalism, animal rights, and government that steps beyond it's constitutinoal bounds. It's a GREAT read!
To the Honorable Chairman and Members of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The following comments are offered in support of the imposition of realistic and common-sense rules for the protection of all species in, on and about all of Florida’s waterways, especially in Brevard County.
I shall quickly cover three points:
1. The Orda Natura and the elusiveness of truth.
2. The Order of Nature reversed through bad research, suppositions and
the use of apocryphal “facts”.
3. The Order of Nature frustrated and traumatized by way of excessive
government and the oppression of citizens.
Firstly,we begin with the Orda Natura, that is, the same essential Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God referred to in our cherished Declaration of Independence. Truth is many times an elusive virtue but it is always found when the mind conforms itself to reality. Indeed, that is the philosophical definition of truth. Our Founding Fathers had no trouble finding self-evident truth in the rights of men to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. That truth and that reality rejected any form of government which becomes destructive of those ends, that is, which tends to destroy or upset the Orda Natura as it relates to man. The Laws of Nature have always and everywhere placed unpredictable man (the animal endowed with reason) as the guardian of his world and the primary beneficiary of all that is in it. Man’s only obligations are that he be thankful for those gifts and be a prudent steward of all that has been placed at his disposal.
Lower animals, whose behavior is instinctive and predictable (and often trainable) because they are not endowed with reason (i.e. intellect and will), share no part in man’s control of earthly goods and in the true order of things exist only for the use, pleasure, welfare and curiosity of man. Man and beast are on two different planes and can be compared but never equated. If one attempts to raise the animal to the level of man he insults and degrades man and, in effect, he lowers man to the undignified level of the animal. The unavoidable nonsensical conclusion of such outrageous concern for the beast is that man and maggots are equal. This only invites ridicule and disrespect for all of mankind. Animals, unlike man, cannot think in the abstract and therefore can have no concept of such ideas as truth, honesty, justice and rights. Consequently, truth clearly sees, for instance, that an unreasoning animal cannot and can never have any “rights” simply because it cannot possibly understand what a right is. A porpoise may be trained to jump through a hoop but the idea never originated with the porpoise nor can it explain why it does so. And an animal cannot absorb an abstract quality vicariously through a surrogate or advocate. Thus, to claim “rights” for animals is to claim the absurd. It is the classic propositional urge meeting the immovable truth. If animals had rights, they would have long ago gained their freedom from man and taken control of the universe.
So, what does all this mean in terms of the life of the manatee and the pertinent waterways of Florida and in particular Brevard County? It means, and the reality is, that animals (manatees) have no entitlement whatever in the social scheme of things, but, man (because he is reasonable and responsible) has a duty of careful stewardship over what has been placed in his charge as he exercises his self-evident rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That is the Orda Natura. That is the reality. That is the truth. That is what cannot be denied.
Now we move to my second point - the Order of Nature reversed. Truth may at times be anelusive virtue but it seems that, more often than not, it is a scarce commodity. Another reality is that, up till now, the rules imposed on waterway users have, for the most part, targeted the wrong causes for manatee deaths. Honest research, using state-of-the-art technologies, clearly show that the Commission and the Bureau of Protected Species Management have been grossly misled by “preservationist” activists and less-than-scientific “experts”. Furthermore, these agencies have obstinately refused to listen to anybody else who raises serious questions concerning their objectivity. The truth is that neitherrecreational powerboats nor watercraft is the main cause of manatee mortality. Leaving aside natural attrition, it is now clearly proven by responsible study and research that the traumatic death and injury rates (as low as they are) are caused by large propeller, slow-moving workboats (such as tugboats). Other studies show massive cold water deaths. (The reports on these studies have been submitted to you and there is no need to go over them in detail here.)
One wonders if the reason there is an alleged overkill of manatees is not explained merely by the dramatic increase in manatee population from 738 in 1976 to 3276 today (according to published figures). Yet it is common knowledge that the heavily manatee-populated waters of Monroe County and many rivers have never been counted. The fact is that there has been a virtual manatee population “explosion” over the past 20 years. It doesn’t take the proverbial rocket scientist to figure out that the greater the population increase, the greater the mortality. Has there been overprotection as was the case with alligators? What is the reality about manatees? What is the truth? How can anyone say the manatee is an endangered species without choking on his words? Why the deception? What hidden motive(s) lies beneath such deceit?
A long, hard look at the history of so-called manatee “protection” in Florida is a trip to fantasy- land and a litany of apocryphal “facts”, falsehoods, deliberate misinformation, disinformation, fudged reports, bad research, suppositions, hidden agendas, radical activism, groundless “environmental” causes, insidious designs, political back-scratching, citizen oppression, subversion of the economy, some downright lies, violations of citizens’ rights and the promulgation of offensive, unnecessary and oppressive rules. And to what purpose? Who knows for certain what nefarious schemes abound among those who seek power and love to control others. One thing for certain is that it is not to protect the thriving manatee herd. To the discerning observer the real problem appears to be another case of a bloated bureaucracy trying to solve an imaginary riddle.
So, in effect, what has happened? The Order of Nature has been reversed. It has been twisted and overturned so that man has been suppressed and the animal has been elevated to the level of a lesser deity. The primary concern is no longer for the human being. Manatees are more important than man. The manatee is worshipped and “protected” while man becomes a hapless unprotected victim. That is an outrageous insult and an abandonment by leadership of its obligation to honor men and foster the welfare of mankind. The FF&WCC is endowed only with noble and wholesome purpose and must not be a part of any such inhuman scheme or deception. That situation clearly signals to all the world that the cherished Laws of Nature have been reversed and the travesty requires drastic corrective action.
The reality is that there is no great manatee problem. There are no real concerns which cannot be solved by ordinary common sense. When snakes bite, when animals stampede and trample, when locusts infest, when killer bees swarm and overrun the countryside, it is natural and proper for man to take drastic action to protect himself. When leaders take drastic action to protect an animal which actually needs control and even culling, then man becomes the abused species and one may properly ask, “What are we doing to ourselves?” When we reach that reality we have reached the point where the Order of Nature has been reversed - and that can never be a good.
Lastly, we move to my third point - the Order of Nature frustrated and traumatized by big, bigger and biggest government and the consequent oppression of citizens.
If you don’t like big oppressive government, if you cherish your freedoms, if you think that the best government is that which governs the least, then you have to take a good look at what’s going on around you. All those who have fought for freedom, cherish freedom and long for freedom know that government can be, like fire, a fearful master and must be limited and must be bound down by restraints (such as the chains of the Constitution). Since time immemorial some men have always tried to control others. Some control is good for man, total control is bad. How many times must we learn that lesson? Is it not enough that we have excesses in state government, and runaway Federal Government which frequently exceeds Constitutional limitations in better than half of its operations? Does the average citizen have an inkling of the extent to which the government controls almost every aspect of our lives? Does he realize that the Federal Government alone has more laws, rules and regulations than the sum total of all the European countries combined! Virtually none of these laws control government, they all control citizens.
All citizens, including members of the FF&WCC, must wake up to the biggest threat that faces our well being. Most people are not aware of it and won’t want to believe it but many of our so-called leaders are quite willing to eventually turn full control of the US commonwealth over to the United Nations. By insidious gradualism (a kind of Fabian Socialism) we are gradually being placed under UN control. Some may foolishly believe that would be a wonderful event but, of course , it would mean the sacrificing of our sovereignty and the loss of all our God-given rights which are specifically protected by our Constitution. Don’t think for a moment that the UN will protect those rights. On the contrary, read the UN Charter and some of the UN “Conventions” and you will not find one protection of those rights as we know them. This is insidious and frightening and the worst part is that some UN measures have already taken hold quietly and without fanfare right here in our country with the full cooperation of some of our leaders. And these measures, already in place, concern themselves with the environment! There is an abundance of control schemes afoot which parade as environmental “cures” and “sustainable” programs under the names of BIODIVERSITY, BIOCENTRISM, WILDLANDS PROJECT, ZONES, BIOSPHERE PROGRAMS, WORLD HERITAGE SITES, CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, THE KYOTO PROTOCOL, THE UN CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION and others. Tragically, the eco-socialist game involves the full cooperation of our Federal Government through the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, The Department of Agriculture and the State Department, all with the full assent of many congressional committees. What remains of our State and Federal sovereignty is fast becoming an illusion and when it is gone so are the rest of our self-evident freedoms.
Most Americans would be shocked to learn that “Biocentrism”, the ideology which inspired the Wildlands Project, holds that human beings are just another species in an all encompassing “biosphere”. This means that you and I are considered to be on the same level as the animals, the trees, the ocean slugs and the maggot! A clear reversal of the Order of Nature cleverly insinuated into our lives, disguised under the mantle of “environmentalism”, and we never even noticed!
If you think this sounds like the ravings of a madman I invite you to visit Yellowstone Park and 19 other UN World Heritage Sites dotting the US landscape. To these have been added 47 UN Biosphere Reserves accounting for more than 50 million acres. Included is Florida’s Everglades Park. If you don’t believe it, please go there and read the signs yourself! The UN has already established a measure of control right here in Florida as well as other places in the USA! Americans do not want to be ruled by forces beyond their control. This unsavory influence is here, it is insidious and it must be stopped now! Floridians do not want to be UN-controlled and expect the members of the FF&WCC to protect their human rights.
If you think that the Brevard County waterways are safe from that kind of “new world order” control, you’re sadly mistaken. These kind of controls are becoming more and more locked in and are trickling down from the UN through the Federal Government to the Florida State agencies AND NO ONE IS OBJECTING! If you don’t like big brother government, you haven’t lived until you are controlled by the biggest totalitarian government the world has ever known - the godless United Nations, where the Orda Natura, i.e., the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” are frustrated, traumatized and completely unknown.
The FF&WCC owes its primary duty to the citizens of Florida, not to schemes and animals. Now is the time to put an end to radical environmentalism. Now is the time to protect the human species. Now is the time to restore the Orda Natura.
Bump
The Order of Nature has been reversed. It has been twisted and overturned so that man has been suppressed and the animal has been elevated to the level of a lesser deity.
That pretty well sums up the more wacko animal rights activists.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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