Our natural defenses

Posted by james on Dec. 25, 2005

I am a frog. Not just any frog, I'm one of those poison-dart type frogs with all the nasty chemicals on my skin. Nature, God, or the thousands of years of random genetic mutation and Darwin-esque culling have gifted me with an incredibly efficient and effective defense against predators. And yet, I must think about the moral implications of my defenses. Was survival the only consideration when I was given my gifts? Is it so selfish, only to be used for my own gain? Or is there some higher calling, some way in which I can use my gift for the benefit of others, to improve the society (or really, the ecosystem) around me to some degree? Perhaps the fact that I can use my gift for self-defense and personal gain is merely a side effect, a necessary but undesirable consequence of giving me the ability to help others. Maybe every time my brethren and I use our gifts to defend ourselves, it just a mere shadow of the real potential we have. We could be defending innocents, or nobly sacrificing our bodies to science to create some kind of awesome anti-toxin that will some day save millions of lives...

Or just screw it, I'm a damn poison frog, and I must survive.