[lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant
- From: Andy <mimi.erva@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 21:48:39 -0700 (PDT)
So it's all or nothing. That's as good an excuse to eat the stuff as
any. Like I said, 6.599 billion people will nod in delighted agreement
for that permission.
For Mike, I realized that what you're probably saying is that you hate money so
how can you worship it. Angel or devil, it's still a deity.
--- On Sat, 5/24/08, David Wright <wright@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: David Wright <wright@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008, 4:39 AM
What, at the root, I'm saying is that behaviour supported by a diseducated but
semi-populist group does not justify concomitant, unethical behaviour.
To put it into simplistic terms, it is not cool to say:
"I refrain from eating meat, so, like, I can drive a car to work every day."
(almost) Ignoring, but pointing out, phrases like this: "Can all you think
about is money?" or "And houses produce actually more GW gases than cars."
an obnoxious so-and-so, I know,
d.
Irene wrote:
How can you compare driving to killing animals in unbelievably cruel
ways? Are you just another sheep? Can all you think about is
money? What about the water that goes into raising cattle, the millions
of tons of manure, the mad cow disease (which I won't even go into where that
comes from), the methane that's produced. Methane is 20 times more
potent than CO2. And houses produce actually more GW gases than
cars. I'm not a proponent of cars but you're saying that until the
cars go we have to eat meat? Are you kidding?
--- On Sat, 5/24/08, David Wright <wright@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: David Wright <wright@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008, 3:59 AM
Religion is what we choose to venerate. You venerate a certain
lifestyle. Call yourself a Jain, if you will, though it would be as false
as your claim to veggiehood -- you do drive after all, don't you? That is
not a rhetorical question.. Don't take it personally. I expect it
from the vast majority. I know individuals for whom science is a
religion. It is the difference between critical thought and reactionary
belief.
For example, "I do this 'cause it makes me feel good but I still do this, that,
and the other thing even if it's genuinely bad; I just ignore the
inconvenient stuff by justifying it through my religion/belief system."
spirituality - the selfishly exclusive reliugion of the modern individual,
d.
P.S. Religion = Spirituality = My Way or the Highway. That is to say,
that 'spirituality' is simply a way of saying I reject all the stuff I disagree
with, so that I can worship myself. It is much more comfortable that
way...
Irene:
I'm not sure what you mean by vegetarianism being a religion. Maybe
you need to define religion. Vegetarianism is a choice in what form one
takes one's calories. For some there is also a spiritual component to it,
but spirituality is hardly religion. In some ways spirituality is the
opposite of religion. A plant based diet is extremely good for the
planet, but, as you say, meat is what most everyone wants.
You're right that vegetable based 'meat' is energy intensive, and it's not what
grows in nature, but it's still a plant food which makes it *much* easier on
the environment than live cattle. Worth noting is that the way
agribusiness does meat is not what grows in nature either. I personally
don't buy soy/veggie burgers except on rare occasion. Too salty, too
processed, plus I just never think of them.
--- On Sat, 5/24/08, David Wright <wright@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: David Wright <wright@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The continuation of Realpolitik -- a rant
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008, 1:54 AM
I understand the sentiment, however, the impressive millions/billions figures
you're throwing around are true only if almost everyone in the west stops
consuming meat to such an extreme. At the moment, the meat that veggies
aren't eating is discarded or rendered into dog food.
It is only a miniscule percentage of veggies that actually engage in an
ethically sound lifestyle. Most still drive to their overpriced yuppie
stores, buy "I'm A Cool Vegetarian!" t-shirts, eat miso all the way from Japan,
and bamboo-fabric laptop cases. Transcending the -isms also includes
transcending consumerism. This includes the massive veggie market for
processed food -- Amy's, Yve's, Mcartney's, and the rest, that are shipped all
around the world. We also have to consider the flyers veggie activists
hand out, the flights and long drives they take to inter/national veggie
conventions...I could go on, and on, and...
abandoning all religions, including Vegstafarianism
d.
Andy: It absolutely changes everything. It stops torturing animals
horrifically. It saves millions if not billions of *tons* of water.
I saves the soil and it results in a lot more food for everybody. Meat is
natural, but there is nothing natural about today's meat.
You're right, there's no such thing as a no impact man. But there could
be a minimal or low impact man, and bicycles are definitely the way to do
it. Transcending isms and personal freedom sounds good, but it's just an
excuse to eat meat and 'do your thing'. And maybe in a world of 6.6
billion and growing on a shrinking planet, eat, drink and be merry is all
that's possible now. But just call it the ism that it is, which is
selfish-ism. You'll have 6.599 billion companions. They just won't
be as honest as you will be.
------------------------------------------------------------------ To change
your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off),
visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
--
See Exclusive Video: 10th Annual Young Hollywood Awards
--
See Exclusive Video: 10th Annual Young Hollywood Awards
--
See Exclusive Video: 10th Annual Young Hollywood Awards
Other related posts:
