I Am To Blame (not a happy post but still...)

tl;dr - if we want to make things actually better, we need to be honest with ourselves and others.

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool."
-Richard Feynman

"Winning"

Shortly after I published this, I received a Substack column claiming "we" are winning, the media lies about how many vegetarians there are, 10% of the US are vegetarians, etc.

"Winning"

I don't bring this up to mock this person, but to draw attention to my biggest professional failure (and regret): Not being honest with myself or with others. 

For two decades, I was a "We're Winning!" cheerleader. This was, in part, because I wanted to believe this, and also because this is what nearly every donor wants to hear. 

Ask yourself: How inspired are you to donate to someone who shares graphs like this:

"Winning"

And that, IMO, is the cycle: people lie to themselves and lie to others, and those lies are reinforced with Likes and $$$. Anyone who says something people don't want to hear has no chance of breaking through. That's why this blog started with thousands of subscribers in 2014 and has 200 today. (Actually, I have a few more subscribers over on Substack, but only because they haven't gotten to know me yet.  😉)

Again, this isn't to be a bitter old man shaking his fist at clouds. I honestly want everyone to be happier, and I know tribes and delusions are very attractive. But even more than your happiness, I want less acute suffering in the world. Unfortunately, "Go Vegan!" and "We're Winning!" lead to more suffering. I'm not sure what I can do except continue to point this out, and amplify the good work of those outside of the ego / fundraising loop. 

[I was recently chatting with someone I knew who first reached out to me when they were in high school. They paid me the best compliment I've had this year (outside of book reviews). They basically said, "When the facts change, your views change." Not fast enough, but I try.]