Article 5. Becoming Responsible for Change

To choose to do something responsible needs a certain generosity of spirit. If we feel passionate enough, then our arguments about the no-use-animal principle will take us beyond improving things for their welfare. We will see them altogether differently, not as commodities but as irreplaceable individuals who need our help. If animals are to be released from slavery, it will only come about because we’ve been thinking about them and fixing things up for them on a permanent basis. They initially need to be released into a protected environment where they are no longer required to reproduce so that humans can make a profit.
But how are free-willed, autonomous people ever going to be convinced of this principle? It’s radical, inconvenient and often advocated by righteous sounding people. To make the change of attitude seem attractive, advocates need to look carefully at how they communicate their message. First up, we need to stop haranguing people into agreement. They’ll always slip back to old habits after we’ve left, unless we’ve been able to convince them to make a permanent step forward. This is one big step, not merely in changing from a traditional diet to a plant-based one, but from a position of self-interest to altruism.
Out of respect for the difficulties of making such a change, we need to be honest and not hold back on the many personal and practical implications of such an attitude change. Swapping new habits for old ones starts with food because that’s the first thing on the mind of anyone considering this change. But we also need to talk about boycott and withdrawing support from a whole destructive society-based system. If we disapprove of it we’ll want to help change it. If we don’t, then it’s likely we’ll feel guilty about our own involvement in it. It comes down to what value we put upon having a clear conscience as opposed to having a guilty conscience for giving support and encouragement to those who pollute and exploit animals If we buy unethical products, we are collaborating in the very thing we want to see changed. By putting forward these arguments we not only show concern for animals but also for easing the human conscience.
Once we get this far there’s one further step to consider – how non-violent are we going to be? Whether we are compassionate repairers or enthusiastic advocates of a vegan diet, it matters not a jot unless we are already convinced of the effectiveness of non-violent repair. By having an even deeper principle to guide us, we can conduct ourselves with dignity.