First Steps on Substack - Walking that Fine Line.

I chose today, October 1^st, to write my first Substack. Why?

• It is my birthday. What better day to start a new phase of life?

• It is World Vegetarian Day!

• This year it is the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when we are asked to take stock of where we have gone wrong over the last year, and commit to doing better in the next one. I hope this Substack is part of my doing better.

• It is the feast of Saint Therese, who guided us to do small things with great love. Those who change their habits one small step at a time, are far more likely to incorporate those changes permanently in their lives, so encouraging that is fundamental to my activism.

• And today the great Jane Goodall died. No death could better coincide with my contemplation on what it means to live life well – and therefore with my choice to give animals my voice here on Substack.

Almost three decades ago, when I learned of the institutionalized animal cruelty on which much of our society is based, I gave animals my word I would devote my life to trying to change theirs.

I once told the spiritual teacher, Guru Singh, a fellow vegan, that my mission in life is to make the world better for animals, to which he responded, “I think you are here to make the world better, and animals are your vehicle.”

But I am passionate about animal liberation for animals’ sake. I don’t think of other species as “lesser than” our own. I love Gandhi’s line, “To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.” Having always felt that other animals are as holy as humans, it is hard to see them as a “vehicle” towards good.

Still, Guru Singh’s insight resonates with me, and echoes one of my favorite quotes, from George Angell, the founder of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals. When asked why he focused on kindness to animals when there was so much cruelty to humans in this world he said, “I am working at the roots.”

Indeed, cruelty and compassion are rarely species specific. We know that most human serial killers start on animals. I submit that less active cruelty, the closing of our hearts that has us sit idly by as other people suffer, begins when we teach children to ignore their instinctive compassion for animals. Cultivating that compassion will help us shape a kinder world.

So, Guru Singh had a point, but perhaps not the whole truth. Both views hold merit - I work for animals because they matter in themselves, and because that work helps create a more compassionate world. Those of you who become regular readers will soon learn that finding merit in both views is typical of my take. I usually decide the truth lies somewhere in the middle, the Golden Mean, the Middle Way.

That’s a useful way to look at the world when one runs a nonprofit, as I run DawnWatch – the Daily Animal World News Watch. Nonprofits are expected to be nonpartisan, and that aligns with my instincts.

Sadly, those instincts, that style, is the opposite of what the social media algorithms that profoundly influence modern society generally encourage. Social media is big business that makes money on engagement. The easiest way to get passionate engagement is with polarizing content. That’s what gets commented on and forwarded, so that is mostly what we see.

But those polar views do not reflect the way most of us look at the world. I know there is room for something else. Most people take pleasure in finding common ground.

We don’t need to compromise our values to find it. Vegans and carnivores might both fight factory farming. Those who hunt for food might detest hunting for trophies. Folks who don’t feel much for fish might be moved by the plight of whales who are starving for lack of fish to eat; they might therefore be persuaded to work to curtail industrial fishing. We can join forces for good without pretending to be who we are not. But if we hope to reach across the divide, on behalf of animals or any other issue, we must learn to be honest without being insulting.

I feel honored to share that the Nobel Prize recipient J.M. Coetzee once wrote of my work:

“Of all the figures in the U.S. animal protection movement, it is Karen Dawn whom I most look forward to reading, not just for the uncompromising directness of her message but for the clarity, warmth, and good humor with which she expresses it.”

I try so hard to achieve just that – uncompromising directness, shared in a manner that is inviting rather than off-putting.

He also wrote, “In an age, and in a medium, in which people seem to be content with quick cliches and approximations, Karen Dawn writes a lucid and accurate prose that could be held up as a model to her profession. Her work treads that fine line between the provocative and the counterproductively undiplomatic assuredly.”

Again, that is my aim – accuracy and diplomacy. Whether discussing animal issues or politics, I try to avoid language that these days is called “triggering” but which I would call inflammatory, if the same point can be made using language less likely to alienate the very folks I hope to persuade. Yet you won’t find me going to the other extreme, hiding hard truths behind euphemisms, like inaccurately using the word “euthanize” when discussing the killing of homeless animals who are not in unremittable pain. I will always do my best to walk that fine line well.

I should note that though my work will always focus on animals, on this Substack I might occasionally weigh in on other issues. I will never, however, put those issues before animals or leave animals entirely out of a conversation. My life’s work has been to make sure that their interests are always represented in public discourse.

I will share the truth as I see it, with my views shaped by my commitment to look at issues from varying angles. And I will be open to changing my views, given new information or an enlightening perspective. After all, it’s always worth asking, “If you can’t change your mind are you sure you still have one?”

My values, however, won’t change, and I won’t try to change yours. My aim will be to provide information and insights that you can measure against your own values, to see where we align and can work together for a better world.

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