Glad you bumped the thread and posted about that article.That is pretty deep and, I'd like to think, brutally honest... I like to think of myself as somewhat philosophic and intelligent, and this definitely is thought invoking. I will say though, that everything acknowledgeable by any individual is tinted by the lens they grant themselves to view the subject through.
As I read through it, I was noting things that I disagree or find fault with what @Nutterbuster wrote. As I was finishing it up and afterwards, it dawned on me that my perspective on the subject is mine. It is colored by my experiences, teachings, mentors, faith, etc.. His perceptions are likewise colored by the same and they are different than mine. Therein lies, I believe the largest hurdle to a unified hunting message to the non-hunting public. The anti's are unified because they only have one perception and largely no experience against which to weight their beliefs. There are many reasons I am a hunter. Some of those reasons are moderately weighted and some are anchored to the very core of my being. One of the latter is the fact I have never shied away from professing my love of killing critters. I feel there is great value, that has application in many other areas of life, in being a capable and confident killer within the confines of the game regulations. But to get back on track with discussing the article, I went back through it a second time and the same line stuck out to me as the only objectionable point. Preservation of culture and heritage, imo, is not found in a museum. Heritage and culture is preserved in how we live our daily lives. Maybe those thing change the more we live, learn and experience and as we evaluate the aspects that are and are not worth preserving. Like Nick, there have been a couple of times in my life where I seriously questioned why I just killed a particular animal. I knew the answer, I like killing. Twisted up in the emotion and evaluation though were the facts that while I was within the legal limit, I didnt particularly need or have use for the meat. Our heritage and culture is passed on as we share with and teach others. The value of that I reckon is best measured by the moral and ethical behaviors we individually exhibit. Hopefully more of us as hunters, as we mature in our pursuits, hold dearly to the heritage and culture that brings value worth passing on, an understanding and appreciation for our environment, love and appreciation for the critters that call it home, a growing understanding of the symbiotic relationship of all living things, the value of being capable of violence but the higher value in having absolute control over that ability, and the gratification of being able to provide for our families are just a few of the things that quickly come to mind.
Really great article @Nutterbuster
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