The value of our lives

I once was a pediatrician in Conway/Greenbrier and I traded it in for a much simpler life. I think I value life no matter the chromosome makeup, no matter their party affiliation.

My dominant heifer, Sweetie, died this week after a long life of at least 17 years. My wife Cathie states Sweetie was closer to 20 years. Sweetie was the leader of my small cow-calf herd and taught all my heifers and calves how to behave. My 4- to 5-year-old bull was distraught with her passing, trying to get her up and vocalizing sounds I have never heard from a bull as she struggled at the end. They were very close; he looked for her after we took her to her grave. She taught me that cows are many times smarter and loving than we give them credit.

It seems a shame that many of our animals are more humane with each of their own than we are with fellow humans. Two teens killed in North Little Rock this past week, at the University of Virginia there were three students killed, a recent hospital shooting in Arkansas resulted in one death, and in March Arkansas had one killed and 20-plus wounded, including many children.

To many people these lives are of no consequence. They value their pistols and ARs, guns which have no purpose except to kill another human. We blame this “crime wave” on Joe Biden, but it really is the ease and access of guns throughout our society. There are many good people with guns, but with a 5 to 20 percent rate of mental illness in our society, we are throwing a match into a gasoline fire. The deaths of our innocents will happen over and over until it happens to my/your family.

With our “superior” genetic makeup and all of our intelligence, it seems a pretty simple answer, but are we that selfish? Is shooting a gun geared to kill people and placing it in the hands of a mentally disturbed person worth the risk? Many countries with a much lower murder rate have answered that question. I love my grandchild. Do you?

ANDY CONNAUGHTON Vilonia