Woohoo: baby steps
I respect the crap out of people who stand up for their principles. To do so is, at its deepest level, to justify living. It’s what gets you up in the morning, it gives life meaning outside of merely existing.
I don’t think standing up for your principles means trying to be perfect, though. For instance, some people who want to support a cause put a small financial amount towards it yearly. If that’s all they can do, then that’s awesome.
Some people who support vegetarianism choose to only cut out red meat from their diet, while some choose to cut out everything but fish, and others choose to be vegan. If these are steps in a direction that someone wants to go, they’re awesome, no matter where they fall on a scale of intensity.
Even the smallest movements are adding to that something greater. In lieu of perfection, a step in a direction is worthwhile, regardless of its size.
Boohoo: moral apathy
Apathy, while its roots are often understandable, garners less respect from me.
I often hear apathetic responses to vegetarianism. Some say it’s useless because almost every product has animal by-products in it. It’s true, tires, cleaning products, condoms, fabric softeners, roads, insulin, etc. can or do have such ingredients.
On the other hand, I’ve been insulted for not being vegan when I eat vegetarian, for not going all the way.
However, it does not follow to argue that if we can’t be perfect we should give up. People aren’t perfect, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to solve or at least draw attention to problems. Do you think voting matters? I sincerely hope you do, and sincerely hope you wouldn’t abstain from voting if it didn’t look like your party would win.
Apathy can achieve a perfection of correctness: if you don’t try, you can’t fail. While I appreciate this concern, pursuit of perfection isn’t an excuse to roll-over and give up.
