People spend millions upon millions of dollars each year to save a single human life. The cost of chemotherapy for just one patient is roughly $30,000. A heart transplant is nearly $800,000. An intestine transplant is over $1 million. And it’s all worth it because at the end of the day what is more valuable than a human life? A single life holds the potential to discover, to create and to revolutionize. Perhaps your child will discover a cure for cancer. Someone else’s may resolve California’s drought situation. We are the generation who will mobilize a new era of innovation and advancements.
Why should we treat the four-year old boy who fell into the moat surrounding the Cincinnati Zoo’s gorilla exhibit, any differently? Weren’t we taught to put the life of a human being above all else’s? Comments on social media are buzzing with reactions to the death of 17-year-old, 450-pound silverback gorilla named Harambe. It seems as though everyone is outraged by the heroic actions of the Cincinnati Zoo officials.
Now don’t get me wrong, my heart breaks for the death of an innocent creature. I have always been an animal lover -- volunteering in shelters and nurturing baby birds who have fallen from their nests. I’d even go so far as to rescue the bees who flew into my pool every summer. But when it comes to the lives of people, I know that anything must be done to protect them. They are, after all, our future.
OK, I know what you’re thinking. Where were the mother and father during all of this? Let’s say that Harambe’s death was all due to the irresponsibility of two parents who failed to keep a close enough eye on their child. Or perhaps it was the lack of safety enforced by the zoo. Regardless of who we choose to blame for the incident happening, we must acknowledge that it did. It happened. And in that suspenseful moment, zoo officials had a choice to make: gorilla or child, and they chose child. Wouldn't you?
One final note to all those outraged; unless you “animal lovers” who shame the Cincinnati Zoo for murdering Harambe are all vegans, you should really be outraged by slaughter houses and the 56 billion farmed animals (excluding fish and sea creatures) that are killed (by humans, might I add) for their flesh each year. Are you saying it is OK to kill an innocent creature to be eaten, but it is not OK to kill an innocent creature to save a human life?
There are more important things in this world that we should be outraged by, and this is definitely not one of them. So, while I mourn the death of Harambe, I also applaud zoo officials for being able to save a four-year old boy, giving him the opportunity to live a full life and achieve greatness.
