Images of guilt

As most of you long-time readers probably already know I have a DVR/Tivo, so commercials are something I don't see often and when I do I take care to watch them, last night something occurred to me. Is it right to use long commercials and sad music, sad songs filled with pictures of sad looking puppies and poor children to play on our guilt? It's not like I don't know we have a problem with dogs and cats and our country and probably in most countries. Everyone wants a new toy until they become inconvenient, too many people today go out and buy dogs,cats, and other even more exotic pets without realizing everything that's going to go into them, how long they're going to live, what kind of long-term care they're going to need. I know, at one point I bought a chameleon thinking they would be a cool pet to own, little did I realize how much care they were going to take, they needed special humidity, they needed special drinking, they needed special food, they needed special vitamins. Special cages, special lighting, special heating, everything had to be unique and different for each type of Chamaeleon. I found out the hard way fishtanks are very similar. I had owned many exotic pets over the years, many types of spiders, many types of lizards, so what would make chameleons different. Well a lot of things. Now why would pets be any different obviously if you're going to get a dog, or cat they're going to need care for their life. Obviously the poverty-stricken people in the world need help too but is the right way to do this playing on our guilt and emotions is this really the best motivating tool or could we use education as a better means of effecting change. As usual I'm not saying I have the answers in fact I'm not even saying I have a clue. I'm just saying that maybe there are other ways we can look at things. I'm beginning to think maybe my job here is to shine a light on issues that sometimes we aren't comfortable looking at and if we look at them, maybe together we can find a solution. One that doesn't rely on manipulating our heartstrings to send money to an institution that may or may not be actually using those funds for the things they're saying they are, just some thoughts on a really heavy issue that maybe doesn't have an easy solution.