As a pacifist, any execution makes me feel nauseated. I hate that we kill to show that killing is wrong. We are in league with so many countries with countless human rights violations when it comes to this practice, as many more developed nations have seen that it is barbaric to offer killing as a punishment for any crime.

This stance against violence, at least for me, extends toward animals as well. I was shocked to discover that at Bonneville Damm, located in Cascade Locks, Oregon, California sea lions are being killed in order to preserve the salmon the area fishermen make their living off of.

I understand that these men need to make a living; I do. I come from a family of working class men who’ve required the use of trees and resources for their jobs and I know that a median must be reached between nature and man sometimes. But the Chinook salmon of Oregon are what make up the bulk of the California sea lion’s diet; they cannot help that their primary food source is one of millions of food choices we humans have.

Commercial fisherman have been executing these sea lions to protect their fish. This violent reaction speaks measures about our culture of violence and our immediate, impulsive reaction for solvency when faced with a problem. There are so many other sustainable ways to handle this situation, yet these fisherman do what seems to come natural to them—kill the sea lions to protect “their” fish.

I do not blame the fisherman. They really are doing what they believe is best to protect their livelihood. Instead I blame the culture, the education, with which we are raised that does not provide choices, tools, and information about making compromises, devising peaceable solutions, respecting all forms of life, and supporting sustainability.

I realize that this single issue has made me rant about a much larger picture overall, but it really spills over into everything we experience on a daily basis. Take war, immigration, gay marriage, a woman’s right to choose, or any other issue our world faces today and look at the responses to it; you will see that wherever there is disagreement and fear, violence is often the response.

Could we not take a small step against the violence today and stop the killing of these innocent sea lions? Roy Elicker, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Director, has within his power the solution. He can implement more sustainable population control methods within the area without harming the sea lions, fish, humans, or any other species in the area. Please write to him today and ask him to be the peacemaker we need in this situation.