WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL?

What is the origin of this post? It resulted from a discussion with a commenter at HINDSIGHT ISN’T 20/20 — PART 3. At the end of the discussion that commenter wrote the following.

tsalmon

November 15, 2017 at 7:07 pm

Sorry, not taking the partisan fear baiting. When we start characterizing desperate humans “rats” and “roaches” you have have already proven my point.

As the comments following a post are wont to do, the subject had drifted a bit. and I had gotten into the subjects of multiculturalism and immigration. Was I equating the value of desperate humans with “rats” and “roaches”? No.

What is the most dangerous animal? This little video, Everyone is terrified of sharks, but this is actually the deadliest creature on Earth,  provides an opinion, it is not exactly wrong, not if they intend the word “animal” to exclude humans.

What if someone does include humans among the animals? There is this old trope that I first encountered in my relations with organizations that have an environmentalist bent. They use a simple trick to “educate” children on the awfulness of human beings. The child sees something in front of them that looks like a book. The title: What Is The Most Dangerous Animal? When the child opens the “book”, he then find himself looking into a mirror.

This trick has variations.

• THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL ANIMAL
• What is the most dangerous animal on earth?

Is this trope true? Well, with the exception of fallen angels, we humans do seem to be the most dangerous creatures on the planet. Here are just a few posts that make the argument.

• Is man the most dangerous animal?
• The Most Dangerous Animal on Earth
• We All Lose in the War Against Nature

But what is the point of that old trope? It is designed to instill guilt. Guilt makes the target more easily convinced to accept the environmentalist agenda, but it is effective because human beings can be so destructive. Disease and mosquitoes can kill people off by the thousands, but humans can create an organized havoc that decimates entire countries.  We can destroy our environment. We can also be dangerous to each other. We are full of pride, and we can convince ourselves there is nothing more important than what we want and believe. So this is a problem about which we have to do something, but not necessarily what the guilt-driven might want.

So what is the solution? What about our nature? We are individuals, but we form into families, communities, and nations. We can organize to attack; we seize and abuse that which belongs to people not like us, or we can put fences around our yards and our homeland in order to maintain order.

Consider how we protect our homes and our property. To maintain sovereignty over ourselves and our property, we build fences. If anyone who wants to do so can come into our yards and our homes, we cannot raise our children appropriately nor can we make proper use of our time and our homes. We cannot even maintain what we have. Unless we exercise self-control, leadership over our families, and stewardship over our property, the unruly will destroy whoever and whatever God has given us to care. If the person God gave stewardship does exercise responsibility, no one else will care enough.

Nations build “fences” at their borders for the same reason. To provide a basis for governing, each society must have a shared identity, and the people of a nation must care about each others welfare. Consider our own nation today. Because we are fighting tooth and nail over what it means to be an American, our society is struggling. Because we cannot agree on what is important, we cannot set priorities. Many of our laws make little sense, and our nation’s budget deficit is soaring. Meanwhile, nations around the world are arming, and World War III looks more and more likely every year. When the world needs our nation needs to lead, we cannot manage our own problems. Large number of unassimulated immigrants just increases our weakness by adding to our divisions.

What makes us most dangerous? Well, I suppose we can argue about that until doomsday, but whatever our problem might be, the solution is love. To love each other, however, we must respect each other. Love is not about making someone else “do something”. Love begins when we respect the fences our family, friends, and neighbors put around themselves and their homes. Love begins when we respect the rights of the peoples of other nations to make their own choices.

Love begins when we understand something about our own imperfections and the imperfections of our neighbors. Love begins when we respect each other as children of the “Most High God”. Love begins when we see the possibilities in each other, when we are willing to help each other grow in Christ.

Philippians 1:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁶ For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.