SWA #8

1. Scully builds his case that animal cruelty in factory farming should be a conservative cause on the lack of morals and honor in the whole system.  He claims that there is "bad faith, moral sloth, and endless excuse making" rampant in factory farming and that these things go directly against what conservatives claim they believe in (360).  Scully also mentions how conservatives are supposed to rely heavily on tradition and he makes the statement that there are "no traditions, no codes of honor, no little decencies to spare for a fellow creature" in factory farming (360).  Scully plays on the emotions and morals of conservatives to make them realize that there is no morality to the cruelty that animals face in factory farms.

    3.  Scully believes that humans are superior to animals, as he states that "animals themselves are secondary and man must come first" (362).  However, it is because of this that he feels people should treat animals with respect.  He makes the claim that "reason and morality must always guide us in how we treat [animals]," and condemns companies that use factory farming as cruel (362).  Scully believes that since humans are superior, we must act like we are, meaning our morals should guide us away from cruelty and towards respect, even to lesser creatures.


Blackboard Question:  Scully does, in fact, bring animal activists' opinion into the article and agrees with them, to a certain point.  He mentions PETA and their belief in human compassion towards animals.  He quotes Jonah Goldberg saying that "'what the PETA crowd doesn't understand, or what it deliberately confuses, is that human compassion towards animals in an obligation of humans, not an entitlement for animals," (355).  Scully includes PETA's opinion in order to state that while he does believe that human compassion is necessary, he believes it for different reasons than PETA.  However, this inclusion helps him seem unbiased and willing to listen to the other opinions on the topic of animal cruelty and factory farming.