From the desk of Joanna Schaper, AGM Staff Writer

On Saturday, May 28, on Memorial Day weekend, a tragic event occurred in Ohio. Harambe the gorilla was shot and killed.

I am sure you have heard all about it and then some, so I won’t go into detail about it here.

But the world is angry.

Not many people have defended the zoo’s decision in this matter. And, the few who have, did it half heartedly. You know, all that political correctness and trying to be kind and gentle to everybody to spare all the hurt feelings.

Except for all the harsh comments and remarks toward the poor mother in this situation. On Thursday following the ordeal, a Facebook group called Justice for Harambe had 147,550 likes. There is also a Change.org petition asking child protective services to investigate the mother that has been signed nearly 485,000 times.

How many 4 year olds rarely listen to their mom when they really want to see/do/touch/say/hear something? I know my 4 year old doesn’t. And, how many 4 year olds have amazing super human abilities and can get themselves into the most interesting places or situations? I can raise my hand in an affirmative response to this question as well.

Now, I am not an animal hater. I do believe that unnecessary killing and cruelty is a moral wrong and should be avoided. God created animals and gave man dominion over them. Man saw that this gorilla, Harambe, was putting a young boy at risk and the quickest action to ensure the boy’s safety was not to tranquilize, but to unfortunately kill the gorilla.

But, I am angry as well.

Why is this incident getting such mass coverage when over 3000 babies are brutally murdered each day in America alone?

Where is the media? Where are the news vans and reporters? Where are the bloggers? Where are the celebrities and popular faces tweeting or commenting their outrage over the  more convenient murder of the most innocent on this planet? When is there going to be a two minute commercial in song about this tragedy that happens each day?

Animals have a right to live from conception to natural death. But, humans, babies!, have a greater right as man is made in the image and likeness of God.

Ah, yes: it is a woman’s body. It is her decision to make regarding the child growing in her womb, especially if it is posing threat to her life. We can’t interfere with that choice. We are ridiculous in speaking up for the wee one(s) in utero because they’re “blobs of tissue with no feelings” anyway.

In that case, we cannot interfere with the choice of the Ohio Zoo that decided Harambe posed a threat to a young boy’s life and the best way to handle it was by murdering the gorilla. We can’t sign petitions to have people investigated in this situation be acknowledged and acted upon if the abortion petitions signed all the time are ignored. There is no difference in the logic between these two very real examples.

It is a sad time we live in. From the legalization of contraception to the legalization of abortion.

As a society, we were created to give ourselves completely. We long to be with someone and to share something more with that someone. It can’t be denied. It is programmed into our core; our very heart and soul. However, society continues to fill the emptiness felt with selfish actions of more is better, bigger house, better car(s), divorce and remarriage, contraception, etc. It all means nothing if we are responding to our natural inclinations of giving of ourselves to others.

Let’s stand up for ALL life. Let’s find a way to help frightened mothers choose to keep their babies alive and give them resources to make the best decisions for those babies after birth.

Let’s speak up about the dangers of contraception and the underlying, subconscious reality of what it does, to both women and men, mentally and emotionally. Encourage abstinence before marriage. Teach natural, harmless methods of delaying pregnancy. These things take patience and strong will, but it can be done in this society of now; instant gratification.

Let’s stop creating such drama over the loss of a gorilla’s life and create such a love for the life of humanity that we can rejoice in the recovery of a 4 year old boy with just a few bumps and bruises and not chastise the people responsible in helping make that happen.