The Plague of Humanism
Alexandr Piatkov
If an infectious disease leaves behind an animal carcass, it is merely a single
frame in a long reel of somber events, where dogs play the leading roles. A
frustrated owner often tries to get rid of the body as quickly as possible. In
the best-case scenario, it will be buried—though naturally not very deep. More
commonly, the carcass joins the collection of aromas at some landfill or
dumpster, where a pack of stray dogs greets it with delight. It matters little
where the body is placed; dogs possess an excellent sense of smell and will find
it anywhere. They will dig it up from underground, tear it apart, and scatter the
remains across their territories—into the courtyards of restaurants, shops,
supply depots, gas stations, markets, factories, and other habitats.
Humanists among animal rights activists do not stoop to such prosaic details. In
every home or office, you can find a kind-hearted woman who would never allow
herself to simply throw away the gnawed bones of delicious chicken thighs.
Instead, she will surely seek out the dogs so dear to her affectionate heart and
give them a treat. These perpetually hungry animals will not, of course, be
satisfied with just bones. They will set off along their usual route, where they
are bound to find something to feed on, and, if the opportunity arises, they
might even drag something back to the courtyard of their provider. If the kind
woman also keeps a cat, a piece of the find might go to her as well. Should there
be any other livestock, the infected biological mass brought in by the
resourceful dogs will, directly or indirectly, reach humans too.
Thus, we approach the next frame of this thriller, at the center of which lies
another animal carcass. In the next frame, we see a frantic owner, then the dogs,
then the kind-hearted women, and so on. This banal scenario plays out
indefinitely. True, it is occasionally interrupted—for instance, by African swine
fever, during which the carcasses of deceased animals are burned. Yet the vectors
of infection, the dogs, remain within their habitat even here, continuing their
work.
In fact, it was no different in the past, during the pre-Pasteur era, when
carcasses were counted in the millions. Today, we know that microorganisms cause
immense problems, yet we cannot bring ourselves to give up stray dogs, their
primary carriers. Apparently, the fatal nature of this attachment will only be
realized at the next stage in the evolution of hygiene.
Regrettably, death is just as natural as life. We cannot bury the carcasses of
every animal dying around us, but stray dogs can find them all. This is the very
contradiction that remains irreconcilable within the framework of the humanist
idea.
Original text in Russian:
http://proza.ru/2017/01/15/1585
German translation:
http://proza.ru/2026/11/09/1194
English version translated by AI (Advanced Language Model)
Source text: proza.ru/avtor/alexanderan
Original Copyright: © Copyright: Àëåêñàíäð Ïÿòêîâ, 2017
Publication Certificate: ¹217011501585
Author: Alexandr Piatkov
Published in 2026