Nathaniel Altman quotes

“Although other animals cannot reason nor speak the way humans do, this does not give us the right to do with them as we like. Even though our supposed possession of a soul and superior intelligence are used to create an arbitrary dividing line over rights, the fact remains that all animals have the capacity to experience pain and suffering, and in suffering they are our equals.”
-- Nathaniel Altman

#Pain Quotes #Animal Quotes #Rights Quotes

“The Jain religion in India teaches that because all life is essentially interrelated and interconnected, all living beings should be considered sacred and be respected. This belief forms the basis of the doctrine of ahimsa, which has been translated into English variously as "reverence for life," "nonviolence," and "dynamic compassion."”
-- Nathaniel Altman

Source : Nathaniel Altman (1994). “Sacred Trees”, Random House (NY)

#Compassion Quotes #Sacred Quotes #India Quotes

“. . . As a so-called "civilized" people, and as members of a society in search of lasting peace in the world, we cannot remain callous to our responsibility toward nature and insensitive to the inherent rights of the animals.”
-- Nathaniel Altman

#Responsibility Quotes #Animal Quotes #Rights Quotes

“Nonviolence is not just abstention from war, fighting, or animal flesh. It is abstention from negative thoughts and negative speech.”
-- Nathaniel Altman

#War Quotes #Fighting Quotes #Animal Quotes

“Therefore a person fully absorbed in the bodily concept of life is surely killing himself by not making spiritual progress. Such a person is called pasu-ghna. Especially excluded from spiritual life are the animal hunters, who are not interested in hearing and chanting the holy name of the Lord. Such hunters are always unhappy, both in this life and in the next. It is therefore said that a hunter should neither die nor live because for such persons both living and dying are troublesome.”

“Indulgence in animal killing for the taste of the tongue is the grossest kind of ignorance”

“Man is a perpetually wanting animal.”

“Fame is a very strange animal.”

“Some, while deploring animal abuses, on the same breath approve 'benefits to humans from certain animal abuses'! Who would criticize the Jewish holocaust or Black slavery, and YET praise the benefits to Germans or Whites??? This convenient ambiguity at the expense of animals is unacceptable!!!”

“Please also remember the pitiful gasping/thirsty little mouths/ beaks in summer. They'll appreciate abundant/fresh/cool/clean/ water! Food they can get easily in parks/sidewalks!”

“A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.”

Source : "Voter Suppression Is Treasonous" by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 22, 2012.

“The only possible basis for a sound morality is mutual tolerance and respect: tolerance of one another’s customs and opinions; respect for one another’s rights and feelings; awareness of one another’s needs.”

“I'm trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader.”

“The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the most sweeping civil rights legislation of its day, and included women's rights as part of its reforms. Ironically, the section on women's rights was added by a senator from Virginia who opposed the whole thing and was said to be sure that if he stuck something about womens' rights into it, it would never pass. The bill passed anyway, though, much to the chagrin of a certain wiener from Virginia.”