A fly annoys me. I swat it. A tiny spark of life goes out. No matter, it was bothering me.
A mouse has invaded the shed and is eating the bird seed and peeing on the floor. I could live trap and relocate it, but that’s a lot of trouble and I want an immediate solution. I kill it with a mousetrap. A larger spark of life goes out, but my problem is solved.
We adopt a small pet. It becomes family. We spend thousands of dollars feeding and caring for it under normal circumstances, then thousands more on vet bills over the course of its life to keep it as healthy and happy as possible. That spark of life, we hold onto it as long as we can, and when it’s gone, grieve the loss as of a family member.
Along with our selective compassion, is the fact that most of us eat meat. That’s how we evolved. How many hundreds of animals, or maybe thousands, have to die each year so that each one of us can survive? We don’t really have to think about it, the meat we need just shows up in a supermarket package for us to prepare and consume, while an entire galaxy of lights are extinguished every day. We care so much about some sparks of life, but by necessity, like every other predatory animal, are indifferent to others.
We’re strange creatures, we humans and the paradox of our inconsistent compassion.