Animal Envy by Ralph Nader

Author:Ralph Nader
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Politics, Animal Rights, society, talkout
ISBN: 9781609807535
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2016-11-23T15:53:06+00:00

Alternative Programming

The INSECT TRIAD was canny enough to present an animated program guide, listing the foreseeable order of the parade, so that viewers could temporarily change channels when insects they couldn’t stomach were passing in review. Moreover, for these viewers the Human Genius provided a special alternative, an adjunct website, where other animal programming was being projected.

The first entry on this website was a walk-through tour of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. Its super-motivated director, Kirk Johnson, selected specimens out of millions housed that would arouse viewers’ interest in the animal kingdom of their ancestors.

He chose first a pair of elephant-sized giant ground sloths, ones rendered extinct millennia ago. When the tree sloths, most of whom had tuned out from the Insect Parade, saw their gargantuan ancestors, they were filled with both pride and envy. Millions of contemporary viewing sloths were moved as nothing has moved them before. Two sloths from the jungles, holding back their emotions, asked Mr. Johnson all the obvious questions bursting forth from aroused sloths everywhere. “When did our large ancestors live? What caused them to go extinct? How did their genes get replaced by the genes that produced much smaller sloths? Did our large ancient relatives eat what we eat? How large were the families and how long did they live? Could they fend off their predators better than we are trying to do? How can we thank you enough for illuminating our distant past?”

Kirk Johnson was almost taken aback by the intensity of the sloths’ interest. After all, sloths are not known for their excitability. But he answered each question.

As to how they could thank him? That was easy. Just lead him to more sloth fossils anytime, anywhere.

Johnson is a fossil maniac, having written many books and articles on his fossil hunts around the planet. The Human Genius was pleased with such handiwork but was determined not to overdo such “offsets.”

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