When you do something that’s not for yourself, for whom do you do it?
A couple of local[1] weblogs[2] have kicked this idea into my head.
I find myself thinking about the decisions I make and how they affect the people around me, as well as people I may never see. I stay out of the workforce (increasingly it seems like it’s more a choice I’m making than just the circumstances of the current economy) to help my kids and keep my household balanced. I’m like a utility infielder, no fixed position, play wherever I’m needed.
But when I think of the other things we’ve done, I see the benefits go beyond my household, like ripples (corny? yeah, so what?). We don’t watch TV, except for baseball games and rare sporting events (this goes for everyone: Mom and Dad live by the same rules). The benefits?
* No over-stimulation issues to deal with (I see this almost daily with 5 and 6 year olds)
* No constant “gimmes” brought on by advertising. Our oldest (almost 7) knows a sales pitch when he sees it, and doesn’t like it. This isn’t to say they don’t want stuff: toy stores and shop windows will catch their attention, but that’s easier to manage than the onslaught of TV advertising.
* None of the language and attitude issues I see everywhere (my kids will figure out on their own that their parents don’t know anything: all in good time).
We don’t eat meat and we don’t eat junk food (the younger set would rather have fruit than candy). Benefits might include:
* healthier kids and healthier adults if these habits stay with them
* more tractable behavior in school (no ups and downs from poor nutrition)
* less of an impact on the world. Perhaps too much to claim, but as more and more facts come out on how agriculture has more in common with a factory than the bucolic version we see in books, breaking the cycle one person at a time has got to help. Know what a hog lagoon[3] is? Is there a reason to feed meat byproducts from cows to other cows[4], other than to maximize efficiency/profits? Aren’t cows herbivores?
As for the reasons to become vegetarian (I didn’t learn this as a child: I was 31 when I made the switch), we’ve had a few
* ethics: is it morally right to kill a mammal or bird for food when there are other perfectly suitable and appealing alternatives?
* food safety: how well do we know what goes into the stuff we eat, the more industrial the process?
* health: is it really good for you?
* economics: does it make sense to vote with my food dollars to support practices I disagree with? And by allowing them to be perpetuated, what kind of future am I working toward for my kids?
The bottom-line for me is that what we do should be motivated by love for someone or something. I want things to be better or at least no worse for my kids now and when I won’t be around to help them, out of love for them, so I make decisions that reflect that. I want the community they’re part of (their school) to be supportive and strong for them and for the other kids, their teachers and staff, out of love for that community: I try to put that into practice in whatever ways I can.
As we become more aware of the interconnectedness of things and learn how little we can really be sure we know (global warming: fact or fiction?), I find myself being more deliberate in what I choose to do. Make do with what I have, read the labels, walk more/drive less, think more/talk less. These ideas sound old-fashioned and corny, but some these ideas from another time might be appropriate for today.
fn1. Seedlings & Sprouts.
fn2. Doug Purdy