it's OUR fault

This morning on the way to work, I had an unexpected and upsetting encounter. I live in a rural area, so I shouldn't have been surprised, and I'm sure it happens in suburbia as well, but it was just a hard thing to see. Especially because it is OUR fault and there's no really good way around it. This is what happened:

Not far from my house, I saw two police cars with their flashing lights on pulled over on the side of the road. My first thought was, "I hope D wasn't in a wreck on the way to work." My second thought was, "I hope that whoever is involved is OK." As I pulled closer, there was no accident involving cars that I could see. There were, however, two policemen standing by the side of the road looking towards the woods. One was holding what appeared to be a long white stick. I shouldn't have looked, I KNOW I shouldn't have looked. But I did. And what I saw, I can't get out of my head. A deer was laying on its side breathing very rapidly. As I slowly drove past, I held my hand up to block myself from accidently viewing more. I let out the breath that I was holding and then I heard it. POP. They shot it. Shot it on the side of the road.

I KNOW, OK, I know logically that this was the best thing for the deer in its scared and injured situation. And I know that some (many?) people will think I'm just some bleeding heart animal lover for getting so upset about a deer. But you know what, I don't care. I'm glad that I feel this way because too many people in this world today don't. I feel SO badly that the poor deer had to get injured at all and then that it had to lay there scared and confused waiting to die at the hands of someone who probably didn't really give a shit. I feel even worse that it's OUR fault. Our fault for encroaching on wildlife habitats because we NEED a bigger house and a bigger yard. You know what? We really don't. We don't need any of that, we WANT it, and I'm just as guilty as the rest of you.

With that in mind, I challenge you to do something today that is better for the Earth or for an animal in need. Just one thing people. It could be as easy as remembering to take your reusable bag into the store and using it even though the cashier makes you feel like you are a pain in the ass. Or you could turn off the overhead lights in your office if you work near a window and can see fine without them. Just do something. It'll make you feel good, I promise!

*this post brought to you by Earth day and my never ending guilt and need to fix the world*