Thought for the Day

“The basic right not to be treated as a thing is the minimal condition for membership in the moral community. This is the one right we all agree is inalienable; you can get greater protection, but if you are going to be a member of the moral community–if you are not going to be a thing that has no protected interests–then you cannot get less protection than this right affords. If you are a thing, then you have no rights at all, and your value can be determined exclusively and completely by someone else–and that person is your owner.” — Gary L. Francione, Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?