Whether people out of Louisiana realize it or not, one of the yearly legislative efforts is to finally ban cockfighting, as has been done in most other states. I mean to keep blogging about this, because I feel the whole media emphasis is wrong. Most of the complaints come from animal rights groups. They say it's cruel to the cocks. The defenders say it's part of a culture that mainstream America just doesn't get. I think everyone reading these articles is completely missing the point.

The moral quandary should have nothing to do with the birds. It's about us. I think if we stopped and asked the roosters, they would probably say they'd rather train to fight and kill and die in battle rather than be bred on farms to make chicken nuggets. Think about, they die no matter what. Maybe one's more more cruel. Maybe not. At least they die with pride in the ring. No, I'm worried about us. About what it says about our culture (our as in human, because these things happen in other states too) that we want to watch animals fight each other and die.

And also, this is not just about America. The interest in various ultimate fighting and extreme fighting and mixed styles fighting is growing worldwide. Are we so cultured to promote violence that this is our best entertainment? An old friend of mine said that he had studied with a professor teaching "psychohistory" I think it was called. His whole thesis was that you could tell everything you needed to know about a culture through its popular culture as a reflection of that culture's character.

I worry for all of us.