The meaning of life...?

Someone asked a question about this topic on a forum I'm on, and I wrote a few words in response. I thought I might include them here as well...

---

Why does life have to have a meaning in the first place? It has no meaning for any of the tens of billions of other creatures that share this planet with us, so what makes humans so special that our lives alone should have meaning?

In addition to the point above, there is no afterlife for the tens of billions of other creatures that share this planet with us, so what makes humans so special that we alone should get one? Other than the priceless arrogance of religious doctrine (unsupported by evidence or reason), I can't think of any good reason at all.

Why can it not be enough to simply accept that life is life, and is followed by death? That is what the facts support, after all. There doesn't need to be any point to life for our lives to still be worthwhile, and nor does there need to be anything after death.

The only reason we have religion is because we are aware enough of our surroundings to know that we die - and in our fear of death, we invent a mechanism by which that fear can be "taken away". That mechanism is superstitious religious belief.

One of the main reasons why so many animals continue to suffer today is because religions teach that humans have a god-given dominion over animals, and they are ours to do with as we wish. Sorry, but if that's what "god" is happy for us to do, and for us to act, then that's just one more reason out of a long and growing list to reject both deities and their messengers!