Are We Really Higher Animals

~ Gottfried

Once viewed as the only creatures with emotions, morality, and culture; Humans are living off past glories. Apes, Orangutans amongst others are making greater strides than we ever imagined. Human “smartness” is just a particular survival strategy among many others. It’s not the top of a long ladder. We’ve not really been kicking it, it’s been majorly about surviving.

Retentive memory. Chimpanzees, for instance, can easily beat humans at recalling a set of numbers if they were displayed for a fraction of a second. If you’re having difficulty believing, think about how many times you’ve gone into a room and forgot why you went in, in the first place. Next time it happens, just remember that there is at least one chimp laughing at you from the shadows.

Resilience. Octopuses can learn to open pill bottles protected by childproof caps, which many humans can’t figure out on their own. If we try to make excuses for ourselves, we’d say; humans have a beating heart and as such, they collapse under pressure! Think again! Octopuses have THREE hearts. And they somehow manage to open pill bottles faster than you and me under immense pressure. Pathetic, I’m not buying it!

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Peaceful. Every animal is peaceful as long as you don’t disturb it. Not only is this true, but it is damnably good advice. Take it and remember it. Humans, on the other hand, are far from peaceful. We are inherently aggressive, violent, and competitive, cooperating only for personal gain. It takes only a little misunderstanding for us to show our true nature. If you ever catch yourself chanting on as a petty thief is about to be lynched, you’re only just being human.

Longevity. When you switch on a kitchen light and see a cockroach scuttle for safety you can’t help seeing it as a lower form of life. Unfortunately, there are a lot more of them than there are of us and they have been around far, far longer. Matter of fact, on recent evidence, our days seem to have been numbered. Cockroaches could withstand anything, even a nuclear bomb, and they are well on their way to outlasting us. AGAIN

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Loyalty. We don’t offer nearly as much loyalty as dogs. Humans are ready to stab you in the back for a price. Every human has a price, the important thing is to find out what it is. Beavers will stay faithful until their mate dies. They also don’t move far away from their parents when they are establishing a new colony. If a human manages to do 10 years, even society will applaud them for trying that hard. Hands up if you can’t wait to get away from your parents.

Purpose. Why are you really here? Ants look at us and wince when we say that we have a clear cut plan for our lives. These creatures have assigned roles from birth, according to their gender. The women work, while the men stand in line and wait for their turn to service the queen. Now to you. At 12, you wanted to become a Pilot. At 18, the dream changed to advanced chemical engineering. And then at the ripe age of 32…

Welcome to my Youtube channel! Today we’ll be addressing the agelong debate. Messi versus Ronaldo

Now ask yourself one more time. Are we really higher animals?

I think not.

© Gottfried. All rights reserved

302 thoughts on “Are We Really Higher Animals”

  1. Blah, blah, ad nauseum. Ok, well I suggest you go ahead and commit suicide and make way for the better species. I’m sick of this kind of talk. It’s not even original for God’s sake. Humans are the ONLY species capable of any kind of self sacrifice. Do you think a dog or especially a wild animal would think TWICE about eating you if it needed to survive? Of course not. We are the only creatures who care about being humane or have ANY kind of morality or conscience. Things can improve, but YES, we are the best creatures on the planet. We are not the ONLY consideration, but yes, we come first. And YES, our brains and consciences are the reason for that. And the reason we try to keep other species from going extinct. because we are SUPERIOR. Do you think they would do that? We are capable of enormous sacrifices. We have horrible people but we have amazing people. God, grow up. Just try to improve things and get off it.

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    1. Dogs don’t eat people WITHOUT thinking twice. I say this on-behalf of all the dogs I know.

      We coined the word humane to make it seem like we’re the only ones with a conscience. Think about it.

      We’re far, far from the best in a planet we are reducing to ruins through our wars.

      We’re also the reason other species are going extinct. Whose idea was it to put them in a zoo for our amusement?

      Do they hunt us? No

      Who travels several miles to hunt them? Us

      Haha, I do know a few of us are amazing.

      But we’re not improving anything as yet. You too can see that, no?

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      1. No, this is ludicrous as anyone can see. No other species would lift a finger to try to keep another from going extinct and things went extinct LONG before we showed up–part of that is good. Do we want dinosaurs running around here? Dogs WOULD eat people if they had to, some even do it to their “loved” ones, or attack them — just like people do. Dogs are wonderful–I’ve had them all my life–I love them — and I had horses and loved them –but they are not superior to us. And yes, we ARE improving things. That is political propaganda — you should be able to see that. Big emotional motivator. I AM a conservationist, live off the grid on solar power. We SHOULD do something about pesticides and GMO products and do the best we can. We have improved pollution, energy consumption and more. We are not perfect, but again, if we are so terrible why don’t you rid of the planet of YOU and help out, eh?? Of course not. The human race is the ONLY race capable of making things better and yes, we do and are.

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        1. Personally I wouldn’t mind Dinosaurs. At least they’ll keep humans in check. (We badly need it).

          We haven’t quite improved Pollution if you really deep it. There’s more and more of us so pollution has definitely gone up.

          I think if you listen closely, you can hear mother earth trying to get rid of us.

          Are we really the only ones capable? We haven’t given others a chance yunno.

          In conclusion Dogs>Horses>Humans. In that order.

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      2. P.s. Nobody knows better than I do what it takes to conserve energy and how to do it. I live off the grid in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It’s cheaper to live that way and we simplify life, so you aren’t talking to somebody here who doesn’t contribute. I also allow the DNR to test my river. When my jack pines were at the end of their lifespan we harvested selectively and resowed the tops. We are stewards of the land and we had them out to help us decide what to do to preserve different types of wildlife on the site and in our river. We garden and compost and do all the things you do. The social distancing will improve the planet so you should be gratified. And yes, we hunt and eat what we kill, just like they would do. And they TRAVEL to do it. You obviously don’t know much about wildlife. Do you have any idea how far wolves travel just naturally in their hunting route? FIFTY miles. THIRTY miles in ONE DAY. You clearly don’t know anything about what you are talking about. Here is just one for instance Some travel as much as SIX HUNDRED miles to hunt. https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/aboutwolves/wolfbiology.htm WE rarely do that.

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        1. “Nobody knows better” Are you in any way related to Donald J Trump?

          What does our being shitty superiors have anything to do with the amount of miles wolves travel?

          Stop making excuses for humanity. We didn’t chose social distancing. We were forced indoors, against our will.

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          1. The person I replied to said animals did not travel miles to hunt. (Was that you?) They obviously know nothing about predators or animals. That is what it has to do with. And so go ahead why don’t you remedy the earth and get rid of one disgusting human being? And nobody knows better what it’s like to conserve the planet. I live it and don’t just talk it.

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          3. One more quick thought. Most people who haven’t lived off the grid and in the boondocks like we have for twenty years (we have bears, coyotes, wolves, moose, and all the other obvious wildlife where we live), tend to romanticize and sentimentalize nature. If you have a bear going through your garbage four feet from you (7 feet when it stood up), and wolves standing on your two tracks, you realize nature is not just beautiful. It’s harsh and it’s brutal. And Mother Nature WILL just get rid of us when she’s ready. We are not stronger than nature. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take care of jer, but when you see something like this, you can get a taste for how strong she is. And despite what you think, we really do have good people in this world capable of incredible self sacrifice.

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          4. I enjoyed this comment right up till the end. I haven’t experienced wildlife like I would have loved. You make a very valid point 👍

            Let’s hope more and more people move tow the line of self sacrifice. Then the world will become an even better place. 👍

            Liked by 5 people

    2. I really think that all this meant was that all creatures on this planet coexist together. The idea was to not put the human race down but only to point out that even the smallest of ant and cockroaches have the power to defend themselves in times of distress. We might be at the top of food chain but we certainly can’t ignore that fact that every species on this planet harbours the potential to flourish. Natural selection and evolution go hand in hand. Today the conditions are best suited to us humans but that doesn’t mean that other creatures don’t harbour some innate genomes that might help them someday to survive better than us. Every creature has a potential. So that means humans are not entitled to this top spot that they possess now. The tables can turn anytime. We’re not superior , we’re sharing this planet with every other creature. Only difference is , we at present , possess certain qualities to survive better and leave more progeny. Let’s respect every creature on this planet💙 Have a nice day.

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      1. Shruti Pandey, you just summarised my entire post without the satire, banter or sarcasm. And I Love it. 💙

        It is also beautifully written and very sincere. 💙

        Thank you for getting my message.

        P.S. I really wish I could like your comment more than once. It’s a breath of fresh air.

        Thanks, have a nice day too 💙

        Liked by 3 people

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        1. Thank you very much! I really loved your post. It is a very underrated topic , I feel. We need more people to be aware of this. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful post with us. Stay blessed! 💙

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  2. I thought I was cynical, but you have me beat, Banter — not that I have a high opinion of many of my fellow humans (actually, I think most of us are pretty ignorant, but I make a distinction between the willfully ignorant and those who are ignorant because they don’t know any better for reasons which may or may not be their fault).

    The real problem is that the horrible people have a bad habit of afflicting the rest of us with their misguided (to put it charitably) penchants, especially in positions of power — which too many of them attain, often thanks to the ignorance of those of us who don’t know any better (I offer in evidence the rise of Donald Trump to the presidency). The confounding part is that many of those people are nice people who make very good neighbors, but “don’t know any better” when it comes to seeing beneath the surface.

    Speaking of the surface, I have barely touched it, but I hope that what I have touched is a bit of food for thought.

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      1. Well, it’s certainly convenient for the horrible people in power….but for those of us who value things like integrity, character, and empathy, it’s horrible to put horrible people in power.

        As for what it says about us, it says that, at best, we’re a mixed bag….and all to often, the “horrible people” gain control of the bag and despoil the mix.

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      1. I cannot wait. I have been circling this post awaiting what I know will be a banter-filled and appropriate response that will have me in tears.
        Your blog is named “banter…” but it’s being taken quite seriously. Hmmm

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  5. I still think it’s better to be human than being an animal. We have so many capacities and aspects we are yet to discover from ourselves, a fish can swim doesn’t make it better than a bird in the sky. I mean come on God gave us control over everything and every beast(animals) on the surface of the earth.

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  9. That’s a neat comparison. Don’t think being at the top of the proverbial food chain proves anything. We’re a heap of trouble and disaster for anything and everything. Can’t remember the last time I saw a dog with an axe chopping down trees…

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    1. Exactly, if anything animals are doing their bit to help the earth.

      They don’t keep foraging for food till the plants and trees die.

      Unlike some ‘supposed’ higher animals engaging in wild scale deforestation by setting the amazon on fire.

      Liked by 3 people

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