Help the animals — don’t vote for Trump

Politics are notmy cup of tea. Having said that, it is unequivocally apparent that the president of the United States has significant power to implement and encourage changes with potential to harm or benefit the citizenry.

My passion is the natural world and the amazing, awesomely breathtaking array of animal and plant life on this planet. Many of you assume a hierarchal ordering to evolution, which is not necessarily how things work. Humans may not be the ultimate creation of your favorite deity, they may well be an aberrant species, an evolutionary dead end.

When investigating candidates for political office, one criterion that plays a big role in my ultimate choice concerns the candidate’s record on protecting the natural environment, specifically the welfare of our animal cohabitants on this planet.

By this criterion, the Trump administration has been an unmitigated disaster. It seems that not one week goes by without some attempt by these avaricious miscreants to weaken, change, or simply ignore environmental and animal rights legislation. The Endangered Species Act has been under assault for the last four years. Remember, in the web of life, everything is connected to everything else.

You may think animal rights are meaningless and not relevant to your own well-being. Think again. Humans lacking compassion for other sentient beings are a danger to all.

For more information on the specifics, I direct you to a wonderful organization, the Animal Welfare Institute at awi@ awionline.org.

— Roland Lamarine, Chico