“We will not apologize for our way of life……

nor will we waver in its defense”- President Obama in his inauguration speech as the 44th president of the United States of America.

But as you know, when I repeat his famous phrases, I am not just talking about our “American” way of life, I am talking about mine. My “way of life” revolves around raising animals- animals to nurture the human spirit, animals for companionship, and animals as food (lambs). I do not apologize for this, and I will not waver in its defense.

I voted for this man to be our next president. I find him inspirational. I applaud his call to responsibility, to hard work, to actions that increase community and civility. I love that he spells out values “But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism —“ I believe in those values. I love that he calls for an increase in humanity- but don’t get me wrong- Organizations such as HSUS or PETA are not about increasing humanity. These organizations are simply about removing animals from our lives and they are doing it in ways that at first we (yes, dog people too) bought into- ie. spay/neuter your pets. They have moved on to far larger agendas and they are about intolerance- not tolerance as our new president calls for.

I do not think that these next four years will be easy, and I do expect that I will be called upon to defend my way of life. But I will answer the call to action, so that future generations may also enjoy the wonderful way of life that I have chosen. I will answer the call in this midst of crisis and the “sapping of confidence” that leads to “a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable….”
While I know that President Obama was speaking of MUCH larger, more far reaching issues than I am currently speaking of, his requests is that we all do what we can. And I intend to- I hope you will join me in an effort to stop these extreme Animal Rights Organizations from limiting your choices about where your next pet comes from.