Song: Lucinda Williams "Joy." Don't let others do that to you!
"You don’t need to be depressed. You don’t deserve to be depressed. You can be happy and still make a difference. Indeed, I would contend that being happy makes it easier to make a difference over the long haul – both in your ability to work constructively and in the example you set for others."
I recently came across "Thriving in the Age of Factory Farming." by Jonathan Leighton, founder and head of the Organization to Prevent Intense Suffering. 💖
He covers a lot of ground but ends with a focus on how to live joyfully in a world with so much suffering. Highly recommended.
This is a topic I've struggled with and first addressed head-on and publicly in a Portland talk in 2003 (Day 23 in Losing My Religions). That talk became the essay "A Meaningful Life" which concludes:
Countering the Stereotype
Society’s stereotype of animal advocates and vegans is a significant roadblock to widespread change. The word “vegan” rarely needs to be explained anymore; but unfortunately, some still use it as shorthand for one who is deprived, fanatical, and antisocial. This caricature guarantees that veganism won’t be considered – let alone adopted – on a wide scale.
Regrettably, the “angry vegan” image has some basis in reality. Not only have I known many obsessive, misanthropic vegans, I was one myself. My anger and self-righteousness gave many people a lifetime excuse to ignore the realities hidden behind their food choices.
As a reaction to what goes on in factory farms and slaughterhouses, very strong feelings, such as revulsion and outrage, are understandable and entirely justified. However, the question isn’t what is warranted, but rather, what actually helps animals. I have known hundreds of outraged activists who insisted, “Animal liberation by any means necessary! I’m willing to do anything!” Yet few of these people are still working toward animal liberation today.
If we truly want to have a fundamental, lasting impact on the world, we must deal with our emotions in a constructive way. We need to ask ourselves:
- Are we willing to direct our passion, rather than have it rule us?
- Are we willing to put the animals’ interests before our personal desires?
- Are we willing to focus seriously and systematically on effective advocacy?
It is not enough to be a vegan or even a dedicated vegan advocate. We must remember the bottom line – reducing suffering – and actively be the opposite of the vegan stereotype. Just as we need everyone to look beyond the short-term satisfaction of following habits and traditions, we need to move past our sorrow and anger to optimal advocacy. We must learn “how to win friends and influence people,” so that we leave everyone we meet with the impression of a joyful individual leading a fulfilling and meaningful life.
An Activist’s Life = A Meaningful Life
I’m not saying we should put on an act of being happy. Rather, as thoughtful activists, we can truly be happy!
Looking at the long arc of history, we see how much society has advanced in just the last few centuries. It was over two thousand years ago that the ideals of democracy were first proposed in ancient Greece, but only during the eighteenth century did humanity see even the beginnings of a truly democratic system. Not until late in the nineteenth century was slavery officially abolished in the developed world. In all of human history, only in the last hundred years was child labor abolished in the developed world, child abuse criminalized, women given the vote, and minorities given more rights.
Many people worked diligently to bring about those ethical advances for humanity. Because of the number of individuals suffering and the reason for this hidden brutality, I believe animal liberation is the moral imperative of our time. If we take suffering seriously and commit to optimal advocacy, we too can bring about fundamental change. We can already see progress in just the past decade – public concern for farmed animals’ interests and condemnation of factory farms leading to countless welfare reforms, as well as more near-vegetarians and vegetarian products. Our advocacy’s focus, tools, and programs have also improved immensely during that time.
Animal liberation can be the future. As the magazine The Economist concluded, “Historically, man has expanded the reach of his ethical calculations, as ignorance and want have receded, first beyond family and tribe, later beyond religion, race, and nation. To bring other species more fully into the range of these decisions may seem unthinkable to moderate opinion now. One day, decades or centuries hence, it may seem no more than ‘civilized’ behavior requires.”
We can be the generation to bring about this next great ethical advance. We should revel in the freedom and opportunity we have to be part of something so profound, something fundamentally good. This is as meaningful and joyous a life as I can imagine!
Fewer than four hundred years ago, the Inquisition sentenced Galileo to prison for pointing out that the Earth is not the center of the physical universe. With our efforts, society will recognize that humans are not the center of the moral universe, and will look back with horror and disgust on the subjugation of animals for food. This century can be the one in which society stops torturing and slaughtering our fellow earthlings for a fleeting taste of flesh.
It is up to us to make this happen.
We have no excuse for waiting – we have the knowledge, the tools, and the truth. In the end, in our hearts, we know that, regardless of what we think of ourselves, our actions reveal the kind of person we really are. We each determine our life’s narrative. We can, like most, choose to allow the narrative to be imposed on us, mindlessly accept the current default, follow the crowd, and take whatever we can.
Or we can choose to actively author our lives, and live with a larger purpose, dedicated to a better world for all.
To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Jr.:
The arc of history is long
And ragged
And often unclear
But ultimately
It bends towards justice.
We can each be a part of that progress!
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| The first time I ever really succeeded at public speaking. |
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