A New Environmental Crisis: High Levels of Smug

 

We are approaching critical levels

“You really shouldn’t eat beef, ya know… like, it’s full of hormones and stuff and like… it’s totally bad fer you.”

“OMG, I ONLY eat free range chicken. I think chickens should be happy before they’re slaughtered for food. You can taste the happiness in every bite.”

“I could NEVER eat anything that has eyes. Meat is murder, ya know? I’m strictly a vegetarian.”

“Vegetarians are SO unenlightened. My diet is pure vegan. You should change to a vegan diet. I feel SO much better.”

“I’ve eliminated all the gluten from my diet. I read it causes cancer… or something. Jeez, why don’t they have more gluten-free foods at this grocery store. Ugh, this is why I only shop at Whole Foods.”

“You don’t buy all organic? That non-organic stuff will kill you, ya know. The pesticides build up in your body and cause like… brain bleeding or something. Even my Pop Tarts are organic because the label says so.”

“You bought a puppy? I would like… NEVER do that. Puppies are adopted so easily. I got my dog Rex from a shelter. He was a 14-year-old rescue dog. He was blind and only had three legs. That’s like, the socially responsible thing to do, ya know.”

“You’re still driving a regular compact car? You know how much carbon emissions come from that? I totally drive a hybrid and we’re thinking of getting an electric next year. Don’t you care about the environment?”

“Caitlyn Jenner is SO beautiful, don’t you think? It was so brave of her to come out like that. I wish I could just see her picture everywhere I go to inspire me. Anyone that doesn’t just love her is a transphobic jerk.”

Ok, I get it. Social consciousness is all the rage. That’s a good thing, right? Well yes… and no. I care about the environment. I try to recycle when I can, I drive a vehicle that gets decent gas mileage (can’t afford a hybrid yet), I eat as healthy as I can (mostly), I have three cats that I got from a shelter, I support the LGBT community… but I do these things because I choose to for my own reasons, not because of the mounting social pressure to behave a certain way.

I’m glad to see Western society moving towards what I expect is a better selection of lifestyle choices. Yes, we should care about carbon emissions. Yes, we should be concerned about pesticide usage and genetically modified foods and hormones in our livestock. Of course we should be tolerant and accepting of people who differ from us whether it’s because of skin tone, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, etc. What I can’t stand is the arrogance that has been accompanying these changes in society.

I only need reference the episode of South Park, where Trey and Matt addressed this very issue concerning the purchase of hybrid cars, to illustrate my point.

Enough already. Eating free range chicken seems far crueler to me. It’s the chickens that are living in cramped quarters and are surely miserable that want to die, just to end their suffering. I’m doing a good thing by eating them. (That is satire, folks. Relax) I’m happy for Bruce/Caitlyn. I hope she’s happy now. Please stop cramming her pics and story down my throat. Not wanting to hear about her doesn’t make me prejudice or intolerant. It means I fucking HATE the Kardashian Family and am fed up with all the attention they receive. I don’t care about them. It’s just that simple. I don’t eat much red meat anymore but if I want to adopt a vegan diet, I will. Don’t beg me or shame me into making a choice I don’t want. I don’t need to be “educated”. Information on our food, our environment and practically ever aspect of existence is EVERYWHERE! We are in information overload and only a portion of that information is even accurate.

Here’s a “socially responsible” behavior that I would like to see more of… MINDING YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS! I don’t need to be lectured from the left or the right. I have conservatives telling me what my morals should be and what I can and cannot do in the privacy of my home. I have liberals correcting my food buying habits. I have corporations telling me what products to buy and small businesses making me feel guilty if I drop by Wal Mart instead of hunting down an obscure family owned business twice the distance away with higher prices.

If you really want to think I’m a bad person for some of the choices I make, you are free to do so. I just don’t want to hear you gloat about how much better you think you are for the choices you make, ok? The world is being polluted with smug and guess what? YOU may be the one contributing to it.

– End of rant –

~V