Persecuting Men of Vision

A book burning was held recently.
Welcome to the new United States of Amerika,
a nation in which Homeland Security means
protecting children against subversive ideas
such as the promotion of compassion to
animals. Such as the vegetarian lifestyle.

A vegan art teacher dared to distribute books
by John Robbins to his students. Those books
were joyously burned at a barbecue in which
cow parts were also roasted by members of a
suburban community. What was the teacher's crime?

Let me quote Mrs. Lovett in the new Johhny Depp movie,
Sweeney Todd, brilliantly directed by Tim Burton.
When asked what crime a barber was prosecuted for
and transported away for a life of hard labor in a
ship's galley, she responds:

"His crime? Foolishness."

In real-life 21st century terms, Dave Warwak's
middle school crime was to inspire his art students
(just as Peter Max once did) that compassion to
animals and people is a blessing and not a crime.

Dave's website tells the story of his tormenting
experience and firing by the school board:

http://www.inslide.com

Vegan radio has an interesting perspective on Dave's
experiences. You can hear his archived show (#47):

http://veganradio.com/archive.php

Dave Warwak took the burdens of the world upon his
own shoulders. Like many men of wisdom and courage
throughout history who have been honored by those
who are touched by greatness, Dave has been persecuted
for society's sins.

I cannot do anything better than to compare Dave's
continuing struggle to Galileo's.

In 1632, Galileo turned his attention to a new frontier,
and in doing so, angered religious leaders. By placing
lenses inside of a long tube, Galileo's primitive
telescope allowed him to discover four moons revolving
around the planet Jupiter. His invention was destroyed
and Galileo tortured and imprisoned. Man's laws gave
this fanatic and visionary two choices: recant his
previous discovery or die. Galileo had no choice but
to exist in a world in which his truth became a threat
to the men of his time. Dispelling myths has always been
dangerous to one's health. Sixty years after Galileo's
trial, Salem Massachusetts persecuted, tortured, and
burned women to death after accusing them of witchcraft.
Three hundred and fifteen years later, Dave faces
similar condemnation by his meat-eating peers.

Dave refuses to betray his values or his mission. Welcome
this new vegan visionary into a movement badly in need of
heroes. Dave's personal email:

dave@...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com