I like animals, I really do, but COME ON...

Most of you have heard the story of Michael Vick. He just completed a two-year prison term because of a dogfighting conspiracy. For the next two months he will be on home confinement - except for church attendance and work.  He will be holding a construction job. He desires to get back into NFL, but many are saying that he should have a lifetime ban from the NFL. It seems, from what I read, that a majority of people feel he shouldn't be allowed to play football again.

And what bothers me about that is the story of Leonard Little.

Little is a NFL player for the St. Louis Rams.  He got drunk after a birthday party, got behind the wheel of a car and ended up killing another woman. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, served 90 days in jail and went right back to the NFL. He was arrested again later for drunk driving, but he still plays for the Rams.

I just don't quite understand why Leonard Little takes a life because of a conscious decision to drink and drive and he still plays in the NFL. Michael Vick is guilty of cruelty to animals and many feel he should receive a lifetime ban from the game. What Vick has done is horrible and if being a felon automatically results in a lifetime ban from the sport, I'd be okay with that. But it is the inconsistency in people's judgments that bothers me. 

Am I looking too deeply into this to say that it is a result of our culture no longer believing that human beings are made in the image of God?  Am I reading too much into it to say that this is the result of a belief in atheistic evolution?  If atheistic evolution is true - why are human beings more valuable than dogs? They aren't because we are all here by chance - not by the special design and creation of The Creator.

In fact, it almost seems - based on these two stories - that perhaps the dogs are more valuable than people.

Comments

[matt]

Hi David,

I think it's mostly a matter of intent: Vick perpetrated a pretty
gruesome series of crimes involving torture and execution of dogs
over a period of years, while Little's crime was accidental. Little
did make a conscious decision, but it was to drink, not to murder.
The law takes intent into account, which is why Little only got
convicted for involuntary manslaughter. So regardless of whether the
NFL readmits Vick, they are basically being consistent with the
degree of severity codified by our legal system.

I'm not certain, but I think I would agree that we should not punish
unintentional human death more severely than sustained, intentional
animal abuse. I say this even though I believe that human life has
value that is incomparable to that of any animal. As for the NFL, it
does seem to me that leaders and role models should be held to a
higher standard, and therefore I'd be in favor of banning Little
before we banned Vick. But I think the NFL is more concerned about
running a profitable business, and I'm not sure there's an easy way
to change that. I don't think there's much of a causal relationship
with atheistic evolution; most people in this country don't believe
in evolution, and an even smaller percentage don't believe in God.

Sincerely, Matt

[Jennifer F]

David,

Just found your blog and it is fascinating. In this case, I'd say that our culture is so accustomed to hearing DWI cases and we see hundreds of murders every week in the news or in movies, so Leonard Little did nothing new (please don't mistake me, I'm not excusing him). But Michael Vick did something that we don't see every day when he planned some dogfights, so of course everyone is railing against him.
It all goes back to how much our television/image-obsessed culture has changed us. To add to your paragraph of inquiries I'd like to ask, "Why is it that murder is taken for granted as something we see all the time in movies, but it's illegal to kill an animal for real on screen?" The "inconsistency in people's judgments" that you speak of is probably a result of how we're taught to think. And it's sad to say, but I believe that TV controls a lot of how we think. Not many people question things anymore, but I'm glad you do!

Sincerely,
Jennifer