Weeding Out the Herd

Deer Hunting Season has begun and I bagged mine on opening day. A beautiful
8 point buck weighing in at 200 some pounds. This buck was the epitome of
nature's beauty: strong, sleek, elegant in his jumping, regal in his purpose.
I brought him down with a single shot. A single shot with the grill of my
car. This bothers me, not so much the hunting of animals -- this is a different
argument, but I can understand the "hunt". This is a natural thing: the predatory
food chain instinct. (Yes, even if we dress up that instinct with blaze orange
camouflage and a rifle.) What is not a natural thing however is to be struck
down by a vehicle on the highway. This is not my first kill with a car, I
have logged five all out instantaneous kills and one maiming that shortly
ended in a kill. I am not proud of this, not only have I lost 2 cars to these
accidents but these animals died needlessly.

Yes I can find beauty in natural selection, wolves or coyotes bringing down
a deer. And I can find solace in man "hunting" animals. But, the stupidity,
the waste of accidental death is far more weighing. Especially when we look
at why these deer are being killed on our highways. In Wisconsin 20,000 deer
are killed each year by motorists. The arguments go that there exists a large
population and we need to thin out the herd. But the reason we need to thin
out the herd is because we have nearly exterminated the deer's natural predators.
But we also must look at how we as a race "take over" the earth as if it
is our private domain to do with what we want when we want to and however
we choose fit. We are taking away the homes of the deer through residential
sprawl and then are confused when these animals show up on our manicured
lawns or feast from our gardens, or wind up dead on the hoods of our cars.

I was doing an accidental science experiment with one of my classes where
we had developed our own hot sauce. One of the batches had gone bad and became
fermented and moldy. I think about how many of our cities have been laid
to waste and then left as "urban or suburban" sprawls have taken place. Instead
of rebuilding, repairing, replanting we find the pristine and lay it to waste.
Much like the mold and bacteria within my jar of hot sauce. Perhaps that
is all we are as a race, a bacteria consuming and wasting away.

This week I am lost in my similes and metaphors while we as a race are like
bacteria we are even moreso the mournful spectator in the driver's seat.
5,000 children die each year in accidental or intentional shootings. 5,000
yearly deaths attributed to stupidity. 5,000 children laid to waste.