This is Freedom's Creed with Rex Reed. Welcome everybody to another episode of my podcast. I'm excited that you have chosen to tune in because I know there's a lot of choices out there, a lot of places you can go to get your podcasts. And in fact, if you're listening to podcasts like I do, then you're probably listening to multiple different uh podcasts on a wide uh range of topics and subjects, which I think is a good thing. So with all those choices that you have out there, I'm really delighted that you have chosen to uh listen to me. And I hope it to uh make it worth your while. And I hope you have an enjoyable time uh during this episode uh listening. This podcast is dedicated to talking about an array of issues and concerns uh that I want to talk about, and uh I don't want to ever have it be sort of a cookie cutter or pigeonholed. Uh I want to be able to talk about those things uh that are important to me and that uh don't always necessarily revolve around freedom and liberty, and they certainly won't always be of a serious nature. Uh they will at times, of course, but uh like today's episode, I'm going to safely say that it's on the lighter side uh for sure. And I think you'll see that as the uh as the episode unfolds. I've chosen to call this episode the growth and progress of human beings. Uh we have recorded history of probably five or six thousand years old, and depending on uh what you subscribe to in terms of uh how long the earth's been in existence and all those kinds of things, that's fine. I'm actually not going to get bogged down in that discussion, but I do want to speak about how we have progressed as human beings in say the last five or six thousand uh years, and maybe a little a little more give or take. And then what I am going to attempt to do is contrast that with the animal kingdom, other two-legged animals, four-legged animals, and I hope to make that contrast quite clear and evident. Let's start with uh speaking, uh, a language. Uh that went on for who knows how long before someone decided, hey, uh let's write this down and record what happens. The written word was all that we had in terms of any significance with respect to uh history. So let's look at some of the other things that mankind that human beings have done. You could say that certainly travel and exploration were significant pieces of the puzzle, though the travel was conducted on foot or with some sort of beast. Uh look at uh over time how there were myriad inventions. The printing press, the development of penicillin. Uh, shoot, the idea and understanding that you probably should wash your hands with soap and water if you're going to operate on someone or going to do something that involves somebody's health. Uh look at uh how transportation evolved from walking or running or using beasts to automobiles, to ships, uh, air travel, even space travel, the incredible inventions that mankind has, that we have witnessed uh in our time. The the idea of innovation. Uh there are so many things that have been invented in our time that have made our lives so much easier. Uh we find ways to make our lives more bearable. The microwave oven, for instance, uh opening your garage door with a button uh as opposed to, oh geez, I gotta get out of the car and open the garage door. What a pain. Uh just looking at the last uh 100 years, the the way that our lives have been improved uh and made simpler. Uh we didn't have to, or we don't have to go out and and cut wood to make a fire just so we can eat. And we and our forebears did this on a daily basis. Uh, and it was a part of their really and truly meager existence. They had to work so hard from sun up to sundown just to survive, let alone thrive. So uh these things to me are just incredible. We I can't imagine living at any other time of the earth's existence. Uh, imagine for a moment, and I'm sure you all have, uh living 50 years ago, a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, and the way that uh life has become so much easier uh in the wake of all of these uh various inventions and creations and things that we have learned how to do that have benefited everyone and not just a few. I mean, even the poorest person in America is likely ten times better off than someone who lives in a third world country and has access to very little and even may live and eke out a meager existence as our forebearers once did. Obviously, all of this is to say that mankind is in the animal kingdom the dominant species for a reason. Our ability to think and to reason and to be logical and to figure things out is unsurpassed in the animal kingdom. Now it goes without saying that of course there are a lot of negatives that have transpired over time because of that ability to reason and to be logical. Uh sometimes, uh, and this goes without saying, but I'm gonna say it anyway, we haven't been the most logical or the most reasonable species, to be sure. And with that, let's talk about dogs, for instance. Uh can a dog do more now than, I don't know, at a time during the Ming dynasty, for instance, or any time since then? The answer to that question is unfortunately no. Although I did see the other day that there was a dog, and I forget the breed of dog, but somebody had set up a an obstacle course in their yard, I presume. And this dog was incredible, uh, doing things that I'd never seen a four-legged animal do before. Uh, it was it was brilliant. It was it was cool to watch. It it was it captivated me. I watched it two or three times, showed it to my wife. She thought it was amazing as well. But when the dog finished, he didn't say, What'd you think? How'd you like that? He probably just kind of said, Okay, uh, where's my treat? Uh, I'm hungry, reward me. He had no more sophistication than to do what he did. Impressive as it was. Uh let's take a look at um uh uh I don't know, apes or monkeys, any of these uh species of primates who are man-like or human-like in their resemblance to human beings. They have arms, legs, two ears, two eyes, a mouth, and so on, just like we do. But that's where the resemblance really kind of stops. I mean, we sent a chimp into space for heaven's sakes, and uh I'm pretty sure that if the chimp could have told us what he thought about that, it probably would have sounded something like, oh no, you're not gonna get me to do something that you yourself are not willing to do, and probably would have cursed out his handlers, to be sure. Let's move on to a four-legged uh variety. What about cows? Uh I grew up uh for part of my young life in the country, most of my life uh in the country growing up, and for a time we had cows, uh dairy cattle, and we milked cows. And I can say for sure that cows have got to be some of the dumbest animals ever. And I'm pretty sure they were just as dumb at the time of Moses as they are now. There's been no significant uh evolution with cows, the poor things. Now you might be saying, well, what about dolphins? They're cute and it looks like they're smiling all the time. They do incredible things, and mankind swims with the dolphins. But there's one question I would ask can they speak any human language? Insofar as I'm aware, that'd be a big no. I can see it now. I'm going to get all these different sort of uh upset people, I guess you could say, thinking to themselves, well the h how dare he talk about wonderful, beautiful dolphins. They're just the most docile creatures and they protect us from sharks. They're just the most wonderful creation, but it remains that they still can't speak our language. Moving on, so I don't get in any more trouble from all the dolphin lovers out there. Little secret, I like dolphins too. What about cheetahs? And I have no first hand knowledge of this, but can a cheetah run any faster today than when they first arrived on the scene whenever that was? I don't think so, but again, I don't have any factual knowledge to back that up. Now I could continue with this uh exercise, but I will spare you uh any of those details, and besides, you can research this yourself, because as I've said before, I'm not a spoon feeder. The bottom line is to point out this critical fact, and that is essentially animals can do no more now than what they could at the time of their beginning, and again, whenever that may have been. And I'm not going to get into a philosophical discussion on when all other animals came into being. I have my own beliefs in that regard, and I'll leave it at that for now. I will say this though, we should probably consider ourselves very lucky that apes, lions, tigers, other extremely ferocious carnivores can't reason. Because if they could, as I said, we'd all be in a lot of trouble. Uh we might end up being the ones in the cages uh awaiting mealtime for them if they knew how to reason and to figure out that uh they might be able to get a better deal if they had the smarts for it. But thankfully uh they weren't created that way, and I for one am very happy about that. So here's a modification to what I have just uttered. I'm aware, like most of you are, I'm sure, that uh there have been uh chimpanzees, for instance, and probably other species of animals who have been taught certain, shall we say, humanistic behaviors. And what I'm thinking of with the chimps is that they have been taught how to sign. So in that way they are able to comprehend uh objects or things on a very rudimentary uh sort of scale. So yes, they can and do those things and be taught to do those things, but by no means is that the norm. I also know that there's some out there who are thinking, you know, hey, look, these animals weren't meant to evolve any more than what they have, uh, because that was not their intended purpose. Maybe they were created for a different purpose. That seems to be clear. My uh intent in presenting what I have uh today was, you know, for a little bit of humor, uh, something a little bit more on the lighter side to kind of help us unwind from an otherwise stressful day, uh, applying all of that reason and logic uh in the events of the day. So don't make the mistake of taking uh much of what I've said too seriously today. I will say this also, that I've seen the videos of dogs barking or howling in such a way that they are mimicking the sounds of their owners. And what about the various species of birds that uh have incredible talent for uh speaking and not just mimicking the sounds that they hear, but again, actually mimicking real words. Uh it's all very uh cute and it's all very funny and adoring, but the bottom line is this I guarantee you none of these animals have any idea what they're saying. Now, to be sure, I've had conversations with some humans who had no idea what I was saying, and vice versa. So it goes both ways, but we're intended to uh be able to understand uh the words that come out of the mouths of other people, but it uh it doesn't always work that way, um, unfortunately. So there are times when uh I guarantee you when I was younger that I wished I would not have heard the words that came out of my dad's mouth because I knew I was in some big trouble uh based upon what I was hearing. So again, uh seems to be a recurring theme with this episode. That's probably something for another time. So sorry to whet your appetite and then uh pull the plug, but uh that's what I gotta do right now. One final point, and then I'll get to my uh closing uh quote for the day and call it quits. But as human beings, because of our ability to reason and to uh create, uh leave it to Hollywood to create a fictional character like a Dr. Doolittle, who had the ability to talk with the animals. They could understand him, he could understand them. Obviously, this was quite a fictional creation and one in which we all looked at and said, Oh, how cool. Here's a guy, and he's talking to animals, they understand him, he understands them, and blah, blah, blah. It ain't gonna happen, people, okay? But in any event, if I have offended your sensibilities, I don't know, email me. But be nice. My uplifting positive quote today comes from a real life, almost uh Dr. Doolittle, woman by the name of Jane Goodall, who actually said this once. She said, each one of us matters, has a role to play, and makes a difference. Each one of us must take responsibility for our own lives, and above all, show respect and love for living things around us, especially each other. And with that, make it a great day, and remember, if you can think it, you can plan it. If you can plan it, you can do it!