Tested on Animals

“Damn it!” I gurgle with a mouth full of water, as my squinty eyes scan the label. “I hope you were tested… on animals even…so I don’t go blind from splashing you in my eye!”

But I know I’ll find the “Not tested on animals” insignia on the shampoo bottle because I’m careful to avoid brands without it. The thought of a little bunny getting chemicals sprayed into his already-pink eyes sickens me. Yet, when shampoo stings my own eyes, it’s my values that are tested. I want to be safe; bunnies be damned!

Gloria Steinem wrote that “we cannot harden our hearts selectively;” yet it seems I’ve been able to do so. As an animal rights advocate, I can’t look at the forlorn faces of the abused pets on the television infomercial; my own canine companion is treated like the diva she thinks she is. I seldom eat meat, especially from animals raised on inhumane corporate farms. I don’t buy tuna without the dolphin-free logo on the can. I turn my head so as not to look at the dead rabbits, porcupines, beavers, and raccoons (we casually call them “road kill”) that have been displaced by development. Yet, I curse the mice that seek refuge in my woodpile, the skunk under my deck, and the deer eating my shrubs. And I sure don’t want barn swallows nesting over my window!

This human ability to abandon our core beliefs has been termed situation ethics – our values change based on the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Deviating from our core beliefs is generally not considered a good thing, although we tend to be sympathetic to those compromised by their will to survive. Most of us have wondered if we would have had the courage to risk our own lives by sheltering victims of the Holocaust. But we needn’t time travel to consider the question of whether we will do the right thing, consistent with our moral compass; we are all tested on a regular basis.

For instance, I lament the suburban sprawl happening around me. My eyes well up when I see logging trucks hauling away trees that have been on this earth much longer than I have been. Yet, I traded in 14 trees on my own property last year for a better view of the mountains and lake. I was tested and failed.

When beautiful raised-bed planters appeared in my adjoining neighbor’s yard, I called her immediately to ask where she got them. They would be perfect for growing my own organic vegetables. My face fell when she told me she got them at Walmart. I have long boycotted Walmart due to their purchasing and personnel practices, not to mention their recent guilty plea of dumping hazardous waste in California. But it didn’t take long before my finely-honed self-justification skills kicked in, making excuses for my anticipated hypocritical behavior: That’s OK. I’ll be using Walmart to do something good for sustainability and self-sufficiency. I was tested by my ability to rationalize choosing convenience over justice.

Rationalization is a powerful tool; humans can be easily convinced that the end justifies the means. I fully support comprehensive gun reform, a very unpopular position in my right-leaning community. There have been 74 school shootings in this country (as of this writing) since the slaughter of young children in Newtown, Connecticut. So when the only hardware store in town posted a sign in opposition to gun safety legislation, I was tested again. But this time, I knew I had no choice. As a school administrator, watching our students and employees practice lock-out drills (the shooter is outside the school) and lock-down drills (the shooter is already in the school) had caused me deep pain. So with my heart thumping wildly, hoping no other customers could hear me, I told the elderly store owner, “I really like your store and would like to continue shopping here. But I disagree with the position you’ve taken by posting that sign.” I told him of my experience participating in the anxiety-provoking drills. The man politely responded that he understood, but he had been under a lot of pressure to post that sign in the window. Did he deny his core belief by responding to me in that conciliatory manner? Or did he fail the test of conscience by agreeing to post the sign in the first place?

By speaking up in the hardware store, I risked alienation as well as convenience, but the greater risk for me is failing to be true to my core beliefs. That failure is more costly to our cultural fabric than students failing the rash of poorly-designed standardized tests that have dehumanized public education. It’s difficult to consistently live the examined life, to make the right choices when tested: I wonder if I will honor the pledge I took on the steps of my state capital to physically block fracking equipment should it show up here? Will I join CODEPINK in shouting down elected officials on the path to war yet again? Both actions may pose a danger to me but are crucial to our long-term survival as a people.

And we are always compromised. My mother suffered a slow painful death from a brain tumor, so I’d sure like to know definitively if my hair dye will put me at risk. But should lab monkeys pay for my vanity? What or who am I willing to sacrifice in the process of protecting myself?

The science is still out as to whether animals know right from wrong beyond conditioning, but the latest research points to the affirmative. And it’s not clear where the human capacity for understanding the distinction comes from – is it genetic to our species developed as a result of consequences over millions of years? Or is it learned behavior? Whatever it is, even if we could, we cannot afford to harden our hearts selectively. Devaluing one species devalues us all. If we care about the human condition, we must care about the entire ecosystem – it all matters in our interconnected universe. That’s why activists get burned out. From statuesque trees to defenseless school children, there is always the call to protect and defend each other and our natural world. And we are tested every day to do so, like the animals that we are.

My organic garden is thriving in my new raised-bed planters – NOT purchased at Walmart.

— by Patricia Nugent