All the "viewer discretion" warnings before a horrific news story or documentary coddle its audience and disrespect those being affected in said video, article or media coverage.

This includes all the beaten, famished, parched and abandoned animals around the world and in our own communities. Why should we need warning labels when images of abused animals appear on the screen? What good does that do? If it's for the sole purpose of sparing the eyes of an individual or to give someone the opportunity to change the channel before the image is displayed, this is what I have to say to that:

This is why so many abused animals go unnoticed and die every single day.

Wake up. Do not look away when you see images or videos of an animal being abused, let alone an animal you physically see in real time. Open your eyes to the criminal acts fellow human beings are committing around you. There is no gray area when it comes to abuse.

The horse standing in the smoldering heat with no water, only to haul people around the block and to make his owner some money. All the zoo and aquarium life who are subjected to captivity for the sake of our entertainment. Confused and scarred cattle in rodeos. Countless dogs in laboratories are being tested on for pharmaceutical drugs. Bears are tied to chains by their snouts. Cats are beaten and burned alive. Fish are shoved into tiny bowls and sold at Walmart, only to die days later due to mistreatment. The list goes...

It is disgusting, absolutely sickening, to be in a world with other humans who treat animals this way and can still live with themselves. This is evil. In all senses of the word.

I was at an event this past weekend in a large city where a heavily anticipated college football game was being held. Everyone broadcasted their support for their favorite team via their apparel. Spending all kinds of money just to be there in person. Chanting wildly when their team scored a touchdown. If only we had that same fire and enthusiasm in our spirits to help the innocent.

Cephalopods and humans have arguably the highest functioning brains in the invertebrate and vertebrate groups, respectively. Now, I don't know if squid and octopuses gather around each month for interventions and arrange rallies for civil rights, but humans sure have that emotional factor that allow us to distinguish between what is morally right and wrong.

For some reason, be it divine or coincidence, we have the ability to make a significant change.

Why do some of us choose to throw this grand gift away? We are so senselessly arrogant to think that we are superior to every other living thing. Well, fact check sweetheart, if we didn't have photosynthetic plants? You won't be able to read this because you'd be dead due to lack of oxygen. Harmony at work or school is no different than interspecific harmony: at the end of the day, if one cog doesn't fit, the whole gear is useless.

Yet, if we must have dominion over the animals and rule this earth, then reach deep into your soul and latch onto the one characteristic that is novel only to humans: compassion.

Please speak up for the voiceless cries of innocent animals to help stop the cruelty. Volunteer your time at a local animal shelter. Donate money to a cause. Study to become a veterinarian. If you want a pet for the family, adopt a senior animal, allowing it to live out its final days knowing what it feels like to be loved.

There are countless ways...

And as far as undomesticated wildlife is concerned, these animals are meant to roam free. It doesn't take a genius to understand these simple facts.

So again...humans aren't the only ones who need our attention.