by Jonathon Van Maren (republished with permission) The July 2012 issue of the Reader’s Digest featured an interesting article, especially for someone who spends a substantial amount of time every week debating the concept of “personhood,” and who should be shielded under its protective umbrella. The article, written by Jeff Warren, was entitled “Why Whales Are People Too.” The article argues that since whales are extremely intelligent, have an intricate way of communicating with each other as well as very sophisticated social networks, they should be regarded as “persons.” According to one marine biologist, “We are not saying that dolphins should vote or go to school—obviously this is preposterous. What we are saying is that the rights of a species should be based on their critical needs. In the case of whales, they should have the right not to be killed and tortured and confined, the right to live free in their natural environment. This is very basic stuff.” Interesting statement: “They should have the right not to be killed and tortured and confined, the right to live free in their natural environment. This is very basic stuff.” I think you can see where I’m going with this. I don’t object to the idea of whales being protected by environmental law. Whales at one point were hunted almost into extinction, a shameful abuse of the environment and a callous attitude toward the existence of these grand creatures. However, this story is another sign that the entire idea of “personhood”—which was and should be defined as all human beings—is being mangled into some meaningless term that can be applied to any group of mammals that activists desire, and removed from any group considered to be inconvenient.
