New Years may be SO four and a half weeks ago, but the year is still new by my books, so I think it still counts if I put my New Years resolutions up here.
By the way, it's been a very busy and eventful month, so I apologize for the absence.
My resolutions revolve mainly around the idea of Ahimsa. This term literally means 'to do no harm' in Sanskrit. I don't consider myself an aggressive or destructive person, but I have it in me to be a negative force in my life, and it's something worth striving for, even if it only means subtly changing the way I think. I mean to carry this out this year in two specific ways: Refraining from ad hominem attacks and labelling as much as possible, and giving up meat and poultry.
Ad hominem is a term used in logic and rhetoric to describe an "attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or belief of the person supporting it" (Wikipedia). I heard about this term while I was working at Parliament this past summer. In Parliamentary debate, ad hominem attacks are a big no-no. (Also, did you know that if you call someone a liar in Parliament you can be fined $300?!). They had this conduct built into the rules, so important was it to civil society. I think it applies everywhere though, not just Parliament. For the purposes of doing less harm in day-to-day life, this term could be applied to our relationships with people we don't agree with. It's bound to happen, and sometimes we can't help how we feel about some encounters with people. But it's one thing to condemn a person's actions, and another to condemn the person themselves. Let's say you're in retail (like I am), and a customer is being rude to you. When they leave, you want nothing more than to verbally maul them in the company of your colleagues. "What a bitch!" you'll want to say, or "what an asshole!" This is a way of labelling that person, as if 'asshole' is what they intrinsically are, deep down in their heart of hearts, so that is what they will always be. The alternative is to say that they're simply behaving very rudely, or snobby or grouchy. No, it's not nearly as fun saying it like that, but I think it's important to make the attempt. It is a subtle shift in language that can change the way we think about our fellow human being. Or, to magnify the situation, to say "Stephen Harper is a monster" is obviously more satisfying than saying "Stephen Harper is turning Canada into a police state", but people will tend to take you more seriously with the latter phrasing, though they may agree with both statements. Many people hate what he's doing, but he is still a human being. (Besides, I think calling him 'monster' is giving him too much credit.)
Anyway, you get the point. Don't judge, be nice, walk a mile in someone else's shoes, yada-yada. That's the essence of it. But it's more feasible--empathy becomes possible--when you build this policy right into your vocabulary. I don't mean to sound all self-righteous about this. Believe me, I have no right to pontificate. Refraining from ad hominem criticisms it's not a habit I have fully achieved. My shoulder devil just relishes calling someone an idiot, a bastard, a cow, etc. I have no qualms with it when it's meant jokingly, and not behind somebody's back. But when things get serious, it seems like a worthy aspiration, which is why I've made it a resolution.
The second resolution, as I mentioned is about diet. For this year, I have given up meat and poultry. I still eat eggs and dairy, and fish on occasion. I'm going without the rest, mainly for environmental and ethical reasons, but also for the thrill of the personal challenge. It's actually a rather unambitious change I realize, and not even 100% vegetarian, but it is important to me. It's been hard enough saying goodbye to bacon and hamburgers, breakfast sausages and black forest ham etc. etc.; I'm just trying to make the transition away from animals one step at a time. I think doing it for even just a year will be worth it. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do after 2012, but I've got some time to figure that out. I have given this a lot of thought over the past few months, and I've talked it through with my lady Kayla as well. I still have plenty more research to do, but I know I'll be able to handle the change, especially now that I've become more confident with cooking (not just toast with peanut butter anymore! I'm movin' up in the world!), and I've learned more recipes for healthy dishes that don't rely on meat for protein. And the truth is, meat isn't usually my go-to for comfort food; sugar and carbs are more my Achilles' heel. Between Kayla and I we don't even eat that much meat on a daily basis anyway, so I figured I'd take it a step further for myself and make it 'official'.
The major inspiration for this project was a video I watched last April of Jonathan Safran Foer talking about his book Eating Animals. Here's the video, and if you have a half hour to spare and are concerned about the impact our eating habits have on the environment and our relationship with it, I strongly encourage you to watch it.
Anyway, I mention this because it's something I've been really excited about for a while and wanted to share it with everybody, but also for the practical reason that if I end up as a dinner guest at your house one day, you'll know this ahead of time. (You won't be able to say I didn't warn you!)
These are my two main resolutions for 2012. I share them also so that anybody reading this can hold me accountable to them.
That's all for now! See you in February!
Liam
1 comment:
You're absolutely right about ad hominems. So often, at work, if we have a guest who is rude or who doesn't react the way we'd like, we immediately go find someone to complain about them to. It's pretty pathetic. We keep having to remind ourselves that there are two sides to every story. Sort of sad. I think that's an excellent resolution to make. Don't downplay the change you're trying to make in your world, Liam.
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