Fact: Timber rattlesnakes are now an endangered species. We have killed rattlesnakes even when they were of no threat to us, as we have killed every kind of snake because we hate snakes. We are afraid of snakes, The Bible says snakes are evil, so we are justified in killing them. I’ve always thought of rattlesnakes as being a most polite snake, in that a rattlesnake will always warn you before he strikes. It is our choice to back away and let the snake live, or we can choose to kill it. Because men have killed all kinds of snakes.

Habitat is now wide open for copperheads, which are far less polite than the regal rattlesnake. It is a change that we have made possible, and we must deal with the consequences. I killed a copperhead at the chicken house last week, and I did not like doing it. That snake did not choose to be born a copperhead, to be despised by humans and killed whenever it’s in the wrong placed at the wrong time. It would have been much better for a king snake to occupy that bit of land, or even a black snake. It may seem silly, but I did ask for forgiveness. Killing anything seems wrong to me.

Life is easier to handle once each of us has swallowed the humble pill: The world is hurting, and we are a part of what has caused that pain. We can also accept the facts and live our lives accordingly, making changes in the way we think and act, one step at a time. Hopefully we can do a better job, given better information and the ability to make choices, than the generation before us.

I’m not sure they had all the information; we do.