Altruism and optimism

1667:

Out of optimism comes stability, and if our optimism persists, stability increases, and it brings a sense of permanence. The sort of change which is made by people who ‘go-vegan’, as soon as it begins to stabilise there's feeling of renewal. As new habits form and as the practical difficulties are ironed out, we start to get a feeling of being ‘vegan-for-life’. There’s a sense that we’ve got past the temptation stage, where we may slip back into our old ways, finding now that even those things we thought we’d definitely miss have already faded in importance.

To achieve this change, to get to the point where we feel entirely at home being vegan, is rather strange. It makes us feel altogether different, because we still live in the same society where most people have never even given ‘going-vegan’ any serious thought. Their meat and dairy foods, their woollens and their leather shoes, are part of their everyday life -  so much so that they'd think it's impossible to maintain a lifestyle where these foods and commodities don’t play a major part.

Vegans, once established in their food and clothing regimes, are free to look ahead into other interesting areas, all of which are quite out of the question for anyone still using abattoir products. Those who are still omnivores will find it impossible, for example, to explore the principle of harmlessness, which is central to a vegan lifestyle. Vegans understand that a lot of the negativity which omnivores feel against us, is coming out of their own frustration at being tied to the violence of the Animal Industries. For them, there’s bound to be some pessimism about the world and its future in general, because they always have to make room for abattoirs. By supporting any sort of animal-killing one is supporting the use of force. And with this comes the belief that change can only be made possible by the use of force - and quickly and dramatically, otherwise change won't have enough momentum.

Something like veganism doesn’t seem dramatic enough to set off the chain reaction needed for making major social change. But here's where I think people get it all wrong - veganism, by denying the force and violence of quick change, establishes the basis for a long-term reform. It's not just about food choices, for as soon as the idea 'enters your head', it establishes itself so deeply and so profoundly that it's almost impossible for non-vegans to recognise it for what it is. They can only see that it represents some sort of solution which is both unreachable and unrealistic, because it presents such a fundamental change in the way we view life, that it looks  like a masochistic philosophy. And in that way it is easily dismissed.

         

However, popular or not, vegan principle is precisely in tune with the character of the 21st century. It’s thoroughness and optimism inspires a root-and-branch change, despite the fact that such a change might not show any signs of ‘flowering’ during our own lifetime. And if that's off-putting, it could be the main reason why it will be dismissed as already being "too late, so why bother?” Which makes it merely an expression of pessimism and selfishness.

Looking ahead, as vegans must do, living a life for others-to-come, it will impress future generations when they analyse the history of the latter part of the last and the early part of this century.