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March 15, 2007
Inconsistancies
I have been gone from this blog for a long time-- too much to do that isn't interesting enough to make time for blogging. However, something that has been on my mind a lot lately seems very bloggable.
I was once quite active in the local environmental and activist scene. I did my stint as a dirty hippie and have given interviews on why I objected to a certain logging project while hanging 50 feet up in a tree. However, I gave up on that lifestyle and scene a long time ago, after getting really frustrated with the inconsistancies in the hippie lifestyle. Some friends of mine I continue to have a very deep respect for. They know where they stand, why, and don't run into a whole lot of hypocrisy as they attempt to live completely by their ideals. However, others I encountered during my flower child phase and even today have a peculiar lack of education into matters that they supposedly feel so strongly about that they prosthelatize to every tom dick and harry who passes by. Little matters like vegitarians who promote soy as an environmentally-friendly alternative to meat, ignoring that most soy products in the United States are grown from Roundup-Ready soy beans, which are genetically engineered to resit Round-Up brand herbicides, pesticides and fetizliers. While the real deal about genetic engineering hasn't been figured out yet, it does pose some potential environmental risks, and the use of chemicals in agriculture has been shown to have a negative impact. Also, those inside and outside the hippie scene who modify their diets to avoid the cruelty that exists in the industrial meat industry suddenly seem to ignore the plight of animals who are tested upon by beauty product manufacturers. Keroacean roadtrips are favored above airplane trips, which despite the amounts of fuel used pose less impact that cars (although this may certainly be due to there being more car fuel burned than jet fuell).
However you want to cut the pie, living by one's beliefs rather than the image of one's belief seems to be easier said than done.
| By Spike | 06:55 PM