After the debate

After the talking is over we might have to agree to disagree. And then move on. Repairs to be done and time over for talking. But whatever we are doing we always eventually have to come back to getting ideas across. Struggle and frustration it might be, but this subject can be a never ending fascination, finding new ways of convincing people that vegan food is fantastic and the vegan principle universally relevant. But relevant to what? What are our priorities? Is it animal rights, damage to the planet or starving children? The scale of each problem is great but why vegans go on about the animal issue so persistently is because it is such an easy crime to identify and so simple to contribute to the ending of. Meals can become cruelty-free, every item of clothing can come from plants and our cosmetics and toiletries can all be non-animal tested. By starting here with commodities we help to transform this species into something much grander, where we WANT to focus our attention on all three areas, repair each one just for the sheer love of the defenceless life forms around us. But how do we communicate such an optimistic message?

We do have some pretty impressive arguments, we just need to know how they can be packaged, so that they’ll make sense to anyone. We need to be reasonable people and use reason to float our ideas, but our effectiveness depends on how we communicate. Remaining friendly in an atmosphere of provocation shows a lot about our constructive character. If we can all rub along together and take up positions in opposition to one another but refuse to take umbrage, then our opposite views are mutually challenging. Opposition doesn’t have to mean assault. As long as we keep the focus on repair we can delve deep into issues concerning food, animals, health, planet, non-violence, children … and if we’ve been talking together constructively, it doesn’t matter if there’s been lot of disagreement.