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I remember reading, “Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees.”  What.  A few humans told me we did.  “Humans are not ‘higher’ or ‘more evolved’ than other living lineages.” Oh, then we just have a really big ego to consider us slightly lower than God.  Okay. 

Something that bothered me in class was our order on The Great Chain of Being.
Dieties
People
Whales
Birds
Earthworms
Dirt

Maybe “bothered” isn’t the right word, but I felt uncomfortable that Whales was placed above Birds because that seems out of order.  To me, that was like 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6.  It’s just wrong.

I think that birds are valued more than whales.  They’re majestic, beautiful, and hold a lot of symbolism in some cultures.  I can’t think of any of those characteristics for a whale except MAYBE majestic if someone convinces me enough.  Many artists paint, sculpt, or write about birds.  There are even gods with bird heads! (Here’s a picture of Horus, the falcon headed Sky God [or as I secretly call Birdman].)

The introduction of non-narrative stories shocked me.  I wrote in my notebook to define it as, “That’s just the way it is” (*Cue 2Pac song).  I’m still in awe.  Non-narratives are awful!  They’re ignorant.  To me, that’s like a lazy excuse not to be curious and discover.  That’s like sitting there idly, being a waste of space.