The Urge To Be Free - A Chimp's Plea Reveals The Most Powerful Human Desire

In this video, I share a powerful story about how the desire for freedom‘ is perhaps the most powerful impulse of the human heart. THe story is from personality Paul Harvey in a Los Angeles newspaper, January 1, 1980. Here are Mr. Harvey‘s own words from that article: CHIMPANZEE VOICES PLEA: I‘ve just endured one of the most cold- sweat experiences of my life. I heard the ―voice of an animal‖. When I relate my experience of having heard an animal ―talk‖, I am not referring to the mimicry of a parrot. Here‘s what happened. My son, Paul, researching a ―Rest of the Story‖ story for broadcast, became acquainted with a research project at the University of Oklahoma. There they have been teaching an animal to talk--- specifically a 15 year old female chimpanzee named Washoe. This is the basic recognition communication, mostly single unit: big, small, up, down. Since 1966 this chimpanzee has learned 140 signs in Standard American Sign Language. After all this learning and more learning, the project directors decided that Washoe was prepared now to ―conceptualize.‖ In lay language, instead of imitating some human‘s words—the chimp was ready to express thoughts of her own. She had learned enough words to cross-reference those words and ―originate‖ expressions of her own. Now, understand Washoe is a pampered animal in the University Laboratory – well fed, physically comfortable, safe from harm. She had ―security‖. And yet—when she was able to put words together on her own into a phrase—these were the first three. And she has said them again – repeatedly. To visitors the voice from the cage is saying: ―LET ME OUT!‖