The Conservative Cat

In and around the Berlin Zoo, the fate of a baby polar bear is being debated by zoo officials and animal-rights activists. The animal-rights activists have a clear message: the bear should be killed rather than suffer the indignity of being raised as a the equivalent of a pet.

This dignity bit is serious stuff. We suffer a shortage of organ donors because selling human organs is undignified. Preservation of dignity was the motive for killing Terri Schiavo, and of course, one should not be allowed to hold a job at an undignified wage.

Of course, killing Terri Schiavo or Knut the bear cub is an extreme application of this principle, but there's a much more commonplace example that happens every day in every city of America: an unborn child is killed so it doesn't have to face the indignity of being unwanted. Remember, a liberal right is something you expect, not something you can do. You have a right to expect dignity. This expectation is so important that your other rights can be revoked at will if they threaten it.

We're not quite there, but we're getting closer every day to the point where your right to dignity can revoke your right to life.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat