A note for veterinary professionals troubled by how divided society is becoming
Recently, I’ve felt a tension on America that I haven’t experienced before. To me, it feels like the nation is straining to pull itself apart in a new and more determined way. The divide between people with different ideas about how a country should work feels greater than before, and all the momentum seems to be in directions that will tear rather than mend.
When I think about the magnitude of the forces at work, I feel like I have all the control of an ant living on an island that’s sinking into the sea. As I stand in the treatment room, feeling powerless to fix a problem so large, the idea that my tiny actions might make a difference feels laughable. But I think that there is a way I might make at least a small difference.
You see, I believe that people, at their core, are good. I think they are complex, messy, innately self centered… and also good. I see it in them when they bring me their pets. I see it in the pride they have as they hoist their new kitten onto the exam table. I see it in the dedication they show as they bring their pets back again and again to work through medical issues, and I see it in the pain and sorrow they demonstrate when a beloved companion leaves this world. Even in anger and fear, I see the human experience we all share manifested by people who otherwise would seem to have nothing in common.
Through their love of their animals, I see the humanity in people who don’t look like me, talk like me, or think like me. People from all walks of life, with wildly different experiences and ideas put their humanity on display for us by holding up their half of the human animal bond, and we as veterinary professionals, are there to see it.
As I look around at the shifting social and political landscape outside of our clinics, I do see one thing that we veterinarians can do to make things a tiny bit better – we can choose to look at the diverse people who walk through our doors and to see the shared humanity in each of them. Yes, it’s a small thing to set aside our own feelings about what people should or shouldn’t do, say, or think and to focus instead on what we all have in common. But focusing on the shared bond we all have with pets makes our lives better, our jobs more rewarding, and it is a tiny act of unity in a divided society.
