Who Will Speak For Me? Reflections 3

I've never been a huge Jane Goodall fan and these chapters didn't reach as deep as the previous ones although there were a few parts I did enjoy and find touching.
      It's very easy to say "its just a bug" etc and not worry about things that are too small or even too unattractive to have practical purpose in modern times. I think what these people are missing is the inter-connectivity that plants and animals share. One small bug could be solely responsible for the pollination of a plant that is the sole food for an animal. Or that one ugly bug could play a major role in the decomposition of dead plant matter and the converting nitrogen into usage oxygen. If we let a few species go then where do we draw the line as to what is valuable as a species and worthy of being protected? My title comes from the infamous Martin Niemoller poem about the Nazis:

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -- 

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me."

(United States Holocaust Museum, 2011 http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392).

Which I think could also be applied to flora and fauna if we began deciding which species were worthy enough to be protected. We are not the definitive power as to what plants and animals deserve to live whereas others are allowed to perish. If we put ourselves into such a position I believe the consequences could be dire as I feel we are ill prepared to make the correlations of each facet of the biological webs significance. 

    My favorite part of the reading were the activists reports of their special interactions with their species and how they interpreted the animals actions and emotions. I am frequently amazed to see people who did not grow up with various types of animals and the limited amount of emotional interpretation!  To me, there is so much variation of emotions expressed through movement as well as vocally and through expressions. I can tell when a chicken is annoyed, when a rabbit is thinking, when a cat has been scorned, and a horse about to be naughty. I really took for granted these kills I had honed over time until I was exposed to people who didn't have the skills. Perhaps like once we have allowed certain species to go extinct will be the time that we start to miss them. I chose the photo because animals have relationships that bring them joy and sadness much like people do. Its just our ability to interpret them that is lacking.