I was reading Kelli’s post on her new food blog. One thing that struck out at me is when she says:

I feel guilty when I read about people who do more than I do

But ultimately you can only do what you can do. I find there are so many people who especially when it comes to nutrition or the environment will have someone point out how much more they could be doing, and it just knocks the wind out of their sails and they stop doing anything at all. I feel like this has become a powerful tactic that originated in our political discourse and is now used constantly. We feel if we can knock out one pillar of a persons argument then there is no value to the entire argument, and they give up completely.

Recently a bunch of Global Warming deniers got very excited because they found a lot of errors in NASA’s climate change data. And those errors when corrected did change the overall picture a little bit. The problem is that a lot of people heard, “NASA’s made mistakes so there’s really no global warming”. Which wasn’t the case. It made a difference in overall severity, but not whether the problem existed in the first place. And I feel like our culture has become like that. Anyone trying to do good is a large inflatable balloon just waiting for someone to walk by with a pin.

And so I try to keep plugging along and not get discouraged. And I try to keep an open mind to change. There might not be global warming. It’s certainly possible. But that won’t change the fact that using reusable shopping bags is good whether there’s global warming, cooling, or we get invaded by green men from mars. And sometimes we get discouraged because we forget the bags. And sometimes we use disposable diapers with Stella. But you have to take the long view, and realize that every plastic bag taken is one less plastic bag, and every disposable diaper not used is one less disposable diaper. And just because we haven’t become saints, doesn’t mean we’re no good.

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Comments

Kate (http://katiekatworld.blogspot.com)

2007-08-16T23:14:03.000Z

Amen, brother!

Ashley

2007-08-17T02:36:28.000Z

I am totally with you on this. When I wish we could eat all organic the fact is that we can’t. So every little bit that we do eat that is organic is just a little less pesticides and hormones for us. That is the way I try to look at it now. I know I can’t control everything in my life and make it green and safe and organic. But what I can change, I do. Some people have been tossing around the quote “those who know better do better” lately and you know, that’s just not true. As if having the knowledge that something is bad can force you to change that behavior. Sorry I’m rambling in your comments but your post really strikes a chord with me. And as far as our culture looking for any excuse to somehow make global warming a lie - well, I think our culture has a hard time accepting reality and an even harder time of admitting complicity.

Travis (http://the-holmes.blogspot.com)

2007-08-17T03:20:44.000Z

Not to get all soundbytey or anything, but the best saying that I’ve ever heard to encapsulate this sentiment was “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I likes it.

kelli (eatingrealfood.blogspot.com)

2007-08-17T05:07:48.000Z

Exactly! I used to get all depressed just like that. I tend to derail easily. That’s why I wanted to put that new blog together- to chronicle the baby steps and help myself reaize that I am in fact doing what I can do a little bit at a time. Even though I sometimes wrap a disposable diaper in a plastic bag.