A planet without monkeys

I heard someone say that the greatest invention of humanity is not God but the concept of man, of humanity. In other words, we almost completely deny the idea that we are nothing more than an advanced caste of monkeys on a minor planet, as Stephen Hawking bid farewell.

It is due to this need to differentiate ourselves from nature that the most basic insults in any language refer to the animal kingdom. "Don't be a pig," "you're such a pig," "she's a fox," "he's a donkey," and a long list. Moreover, very few animals are spared, even the noblest ones, like when someone in a hurry is shouted at, "don't be a horse!" Some insults even make no sense, like "he's a bit turkey" or "what an innocent little dove!" Even in our religions and beliefs, we deny them access, which is why "heaven for dogs" sounds so ridiculous.

So, I believe that the work of the Frenchman Pierre Boulle, "Planet of the Apes," should be at the top of universal philosophical theses. For the first time in literature, the tables were turned; humans are the beasts, the hunted, the animals. Although, on second thought, it wasn't very profound in its analysis. Ultimately, the apes, in his fantasy, behave just like humans in reality. It was only a role reversal, a way of saying that we are as much beasts as the beasts.

Today, I woke up thinking about something. What if, on that hot day in Jerusalem, the messiah was the donkey and not the bearded man riding on top?