Immoral Exceptionalism

Sometimes I wish I weren’t part of the human species, for I am ashamed of what it’s done to the earth, to home. We forget that it is not just for our use, we forget that other innocent animals call this their home as well, and because of this, we forget to share. One of the first things a child learns, whether in home or at school, is how to share. We share with each other, despite differences in skin color, ethnicity, gender, religious belief, age, political affiliation, educational background and more. Why don’t we apply a similar logic to sharing the earth with all of nature’s creatures? Many people would argue that humans don’t have to, that we are here to govern over how the world works. They would also defend the idea that we are exceptional compared to all other species because of our ability to have morals.
I beg to differ. We pollute, and know it’s bad because we can see the effects, yet we continue to do it. We cut trees, whole forests, down selfishly, and most of us never think twice about recycling when throwing any form of paper or cardboard into the garbage. We litter our oceans with our waste, where the fish we eat are the same ones that eat our trash, mistaking it for food, which puts a whole new meaning to not s****** where you eat. We steal from, murder, and gamble with nature. We may have some sense of morality, but claiming the title “exceptional” would be lying to ourselves, and furthermore, immoral. I will not deny that there have been many exceptional thoughts and actions from the human species, but looking at the damage we’ve done and continue to do, I’d say that we’re not so exceptional after all. The blood on our hands is there as evidence, and although it can’t be washed clean, it can show us where we went wrong.