“What is freedom?” asked a pig to another pig standing close to him amid thousands of other pigs all crammed together. Though the two pigs were of the same age and had the same life experience, the one pig recognized in the other a greater intelligence. It seemed as if he were graced by God with a greater mind, if words like grace and God could be uttered in such a place. You see, they lived in a factory farm, where the whole purpose to their lives was to grow to be eaten.
“Ah, to tell you what freedom means would require me to tell you the story of our species. I would have to tell you the history of our planet.”
“Please do,” said the first pig. “There is nothing else to do in this place. There is no room to move about, nothing to see, nothing to do. It would help us pass the time until the big truck comes to take us away.”
“Well,” said the second pig, “imagine if there were no walls to this building and we could walk wherever we chose.”
“Why…no walls?” said Pig #1.“What would protect us?”
“Protect us from what?” said Pig #2. “No, the walls do not protect you. They are not there to keep harm out, they are there to keep you in. There was a time when every one of us pigs lived without walls.”
“A time without walls? I…I can’t even imagine such a thing. What protected us from the giant machines that roar up and down the streets? I have seen many a poor little animal lying dead on the side of the street near here. Or, at least I’ve heard them cry as they got hit. And to get anywhere, you have to cross those streets.”
“There was a time when there were no streets,” said Pig #2. For Pig #2 he was, a plastic tag with the number 2 had been attached to his ear when he was a mere piglet.
“No streets? Then what kept the giant machines from rampaging all over the land?”
“There were no giant machines then,” said Pig #2.
“Ah, I see,” said Pig #1. “That sounds nice. But tell me, if there were no walls and we were free to wander wherever we liked, did we not still need to stay put in order that we should be there when the humans filled the feed troughs for us? Or did they follow us around and feed us wherever it was we roamed?”
“They did not feed us at all,” said Pig #2.
“Not feed us?” said Pig #1, making a pronounced snort. “Why, that’s terrible!”
“Not at all,” said the wiser pig. “In the days before the walls, we were quite adept at rooting out our own food.”
“What is rooting?” asked the less knowledgeable pig.
“It is when you use your tusks to dig into the earth in search of roots and grubs.”
“And what are tusks?”
“They are something that were removed from you when you were a younger pig.”
“Removed from me? Whatever do you mean?”
“You likely don’t remember because they drugged you before they ripped them from you, and perhaps you have blotted out the whole memory of having tusks because the ordeal was too traumatic.”
“Oh, gosh,” said Pig #1, “that does sound traumatic.”
Pig #1 sat silently for a moment, chewing on a piece of gristle from the slop that was earlier fed to him. At length he spoke up.
“So you say we once were able to feed ourselves? That we could walk where we would, sleep wherever we liked, could feed ourselves whenever we were hungry, and were safe from the giant machines that are always noisily going by? And that we had tusks that were ripped from us?”
“Strong tusks, which we could use to defend ourselves against whatever creature attempted to make a meal of us. Yes. The Earth was once a place that was mainly safe for us and was ours to explore as we wished.”
“Well,” said Pig #1, “if this is ‘freedom’ it is a most wonderful thing.”
“Oh, no,” said Pig #2, “This is not freedom, this was simply the way things were before people learned words such as ‘freedom’. Freedom…freedom is a most horrible thing.
“Well, what is freedom, then?” asked Pig #1, confused.
“Freedom is just a word invented by humans. Using the word freedom they invented man’s laws, which stated that humans could do anything they wished to do and that nobody could stop them. In the name of freedom they created their own laws and put aside all of nature’s laws. In the name of freedom they claimed the land as their own, constructing their deadly roads that permit their loud, smoke-belching machines to drive over any animals that dare cross them. In the name of freedom, they cut down the forests in which our ancestors used to roam. In the name of freedom, they put aside all of…”
“All of what?” asked Pig #1, gazing at Pig #2 with rapt attention.
“Well…” said Pig #2, “I do not speak from knowledge on this, it is mere rumor. But I have heard that there is such a being as the Great Pig, one who looks out for and loves us all. It is hard to imagine such a being could exist in a world where we are treated the way we are, but it is a nice idea to contemplate. And while you might consider me a very wise pig, I am after all merely a pig, a simple creature who in the grand scheme of things knows very little. But if a Great Pig exists, I have no doubt that humans are going against every one of his laws, as well, and they do so in the name of freedom, in their belief that they are free to do whatever they want in this world. I can only pray that there is an all-powerful and all-knowing Pig who will one day disabuse them of this notion.”
“I, too, hope that the Great Pig exists,” said Pig #1 after a moment. “I hope that he sees all the violence and the damage humans do to animals in the name of freedom.”
“In the name of freedom, the humans cause more than just violence to animals and to the planet,” said Pig #2. “In the name of freedom, they do violence to each other, as well. The freedom many of them prize more than any other is the freedom to own and carry weapons that are made to kill. In the name of freedom they put in cages even other humans.”
“They keep other humans behind walls like they do us?” asked Pig #1.
“Yes, and sometimes they even kill them.” And seeing the look of horror on the face of Pig #1, Pig #2 hastened to add, “But they don’t eat them.”
“Who said anything about anybody being eaten?” asked Pig #1.
Recognizing the ignorance of his fellow pig and deeming it preferable than him knowing the truth, Pig #2 ignored the question and continued. “And in the name of freedom, the humans rise up in the thousands and even millions to fight and kill each other. They launch great big bombs against people living in other lands in order to destroy them. And in the process, killing a great many pigs and other animals as well. In the name of freedom they rile up hatred in their hearts for those who perceive of freedom in a different way. And with great self-righteousness they lead armies to kill others, even as they deprive those who are forced to fight of any freedom of their own.”
“That sound horrible,” said Pig #1. “I had always thought that human beings were intelligent creatures. Now I see they have less brains than a pig.”
“Oh, they are not stupid creatures, these humans. In truth, they have more intelligence than the average pig. But when it comes to wisdom and humility, the average pig has them beat.”
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