But Alex was just a run of the mill pet shop parrot. I suspect most of them would be capable of similar "human" acomplishments.

This tells me that humans are simply at one place on the intellectual (and emotional)scale and birds are at another. This is probably true of most living entities. We aren't that different, really, and are probably not that special.

The idea that humans are superior to the "lower" animals is an inherently political idea. It defines a fundamental power relationship: humans have the power to buy, own, sell, kill, and eat non-human living creatures. In other words, we have the right to commit violence upon them, and not vice-versa. This right is codified into law.

When we decide to subject other humans--say, Muslims--to the same status, we redefine them as "animals" who can't be reasoned with and who understand only violence.

If we could ever get rid of the former mindset, then maybe the latter one would be harder to impose.