I get you. In face of developments in society and politics, it can be hard to stay hopeful.
I think the underlying issue of all that is that humans are still genetically programmed to life in caves, in loose tribes with a couple dozens of people and dealing only with fundamental issues that are easily overseable. Hungry? Kill mammoth. Horny? Bunga bunga. That’s it.
Our success of our species as a whole outperformed the capability of us individuals to understand the world we live in. With globalization and technologilization everything is connected now. No problem can be seen isolated. And despite having access to vast amount of information, no one is capable to oversee a process and connect ends.
Being overwhelved by this insane complexity people surrender. People are confused. People are frustrated. People turn ignorant. They are looking for meaning, for simple answers. Some people find these easy answers in populism. From my perspective, that’s why people decide that voting for Trump might not be that bad. Even if they don’t agree on everything he says, they at least understand the agenda. Blaming others psychologically can be great excuse for your own misery. It’s not my fault, it’s theirs. Thus, I don’t have to change / learn / invest / work on myself to improve my or everyone else’s situation.
On top of that I think that society has a contagious aspect. If so many people vote for Trump, it can’t be that wrong. To mimic what your successful neighbors do was an incredible benefit to our ancestors. Trump is a racist asshole that’s lying all day long. Yet, he’s super rich and made it to the president. Capitalism incentivises selfishness. The more you exploit others, the bigger your own piece of cake. People admire the rich and popular for their fancy lifestyle and strive for similar success.
In contrast, leftists and leftist talking points often appear weak. The poor asking for welfare. The weak minoroties asking for equal rights, vegans demanding to restrict your diet for animals that can’t protect themselves, environmentalists vowing to stop travel, to go shopping…
Furthermore, leftist movements are often overly critical towards themselves and their potential supporters. Oh, you went vegetarian but still eating cheese? Murderer! Oh, you stopped international flights but still drive a car to get to work? Still just as bad of a person!
So, based on the capitalist definition of success, leftists are and make themselves the ‘losers of society’.
If you’re seeking orientation in life because you’re unhappy with your situation - whom do you chose as your role model? The successful where you just need a bumper sticker and chant some paroles or the losers that might be shitting on you for not being perfect?
From my perspective, the first step to change the world, is to redefine success. We must allow us to be successful, because we are fucking programmmed to be successful! Let’s appreciate small changes in the right direction, let’s praise people for trying, even if they fail or still can do better. And let’s apply this to everyone, no matter how far away someone seems to be away from our ideals. Hell, if you see your hardcore redneck neighbor eating an apple from his tree, try to turn it into a success for him. Because success will motivate him to keep going.
I’m not a very creative cook, but I can follow instructions - any recommendations?
I barely ever use recipes but mostly cook spontaneously. I would just pick a random dish you may like and give it a try, maybe a soy & beans chili? A coconut curry with tofu? Home home made croquettes or patties from oat/quinoa/cous cous? A lentil bowl? Instead of going dish by dish, you can also try to buy one completely new vegan ingredient every time you go to the store.
If you indeed give it try, try not to see as cutting back. Cutting back sucks. Every shopping trip, every restaurant visit, every meal can be micro challenge to succeed in. You can even combine multiple challenges: meal should be vegan, contain at least 40g of protein, at least 3 different protein sources, have 4 different colors, use a completely new spice… All of these achieved but turns out to taste like shit? Barely ever happens but even if that’s still a 5/6 success. ;)
I contrast to many others in the vegan community, I think veganism takes time. Time to get to know new products, train your tastebuds, learn new recipes, new styles of cooking. If I would have went straight full blown vegan, it would have been a shitty experience for me. I went veggie for two years, then step-by-step stopped buying eggs, milk, butter as ingredients and at some point stopped buying products that contained any animal stuff.
Your journey might be faster, slower or completely different, but make sure it’s your personal success story towards the target of a better world. :)
I get you. In face of developments in society and politics, it can be hard to stay hopeful.
I think the underlying issue of all that is that humans are still genetically programmed to life in caves, in loose tribes with a couple dozens of people and dealing only with fundamental issues that are easily overseable. Hungry? Kill mammoth. Horny? Bunga bunga. That’s it.
Our success of our species as a whole outperformed the capability of us individuals to understand the world we live in. With globalization and technologilization everything is connected now. No problem can be seen isolated. And despite having access to vast amount of information, no one is capable to oversee a process and connect ends.
Being overwhelved by this insane complexity people surrender. People are confused. People are frustrated. People turn ignorant. They are looking for meaning, for simple answers. Some people find these easy answers in populism. From my perspective, that’s why people decide that voting for Trump might not be that bad. Even if they don’t agree on everything he says, they at least understand the agenda. Blaming others psychologically can be great excuse for your own misery. It’s not my fault, it’s theirs. Thus, I don’t have to change / learn / invest / work on myself to improve my or everyone else’s situation.
On top of that I think that society has a contagious aspect. If so many people vote for Trump, it can’t be that wrong. To mimic what your successful neighbors do was an incredible benefit to our ancestors. Trump is a racist asshole that’s lying all day long. Yet, he’s super rich and made it to the president. Capitalism incentivises selfishness. The more you exploit others, the bigger your own piece of cake. People admire the rich and popular for their fancy lifestyle and strive for similar success.
In contrast, leftists and leftist talking points often appear weak. The poor asking for welfare. The weak minoroties asking for equal rights, vegans demanding to restrict your diet for animals that can’t protect themselves, environmentalists vowing to stop travel, to go shopping…
Furthermore, leftist movements are often overly critical towards themselves and their potential supporters. Oh, you went vegetarian but still eating cheese? Murderer! Oh, you stopped international flights but still drive a car to get to work? Still just as bad of a person!
So, based on the capitalist definition of success, leftists are and make themselves the ‘losers of society’.
If you’re seeking orientation in life because you’re unhappy with your situation - whom do you chose as your role model? The successful where you just need a bumper sticker and chant some paroles or the losers that might be shitting on you for not being perfect?
From my perspective, the first step to change the world, is to redefine success. We must allow us to be successful, because we are fucking programmmed to be successful! Let’s appreciate small changes in the right direction, let’s praise people for trying, even if they fail or still can do better. And let’s apply this to everyone, no matter how far away someone seems to be away from our ideals. Hell, if you see your hardcore redneck neighbor eating an apple from his tree, try to turn it into a success for him. Because success will motivate him to keep going.
If you indeed give it try, try not to see as cutting back. Cutting back sucks. Every shopping trip, every restaurant visit, every meal can be micro challenge to succeed in. You can even combine multiple challenges: meal should be vegan, contain at least 40g of protein, at least 3 different protein sources, have 4 different colors, use a completely new spice… All of these achieved but turns out to taste like shit? Barely ever happens but even if that’s still a 5/6 success. ;)
I contrast to many others in the vegan community, I think veganism takes time. Time to get to know new products, train your tastebuds, learn new recipes, new styles of cooking. If I would have went straight full blown vegan, it would have been a shitty experience for me. I went veggie for two years, then step-by-step stopped buying eggs, milk, butter as ingredients and at some point stopped buying products that contained any animal stuff.
Your journey might be faster, slower or completely different, but make sure it’s your personal success story towards the target of a better world. :)