Following David Cameron's Argument to its Logical End Leads us to an Unavoidable Conclusion: Its Time to Say Goodbye to the Monarchy

Tradition, in and of itself, carries no philosophical or moral weight. It simply is the continuation of a practice over many generations. To give moral weight to tradition, or to establish a particular tradition's worth, evidence and reasons must be given. And, of course, this evidence, or these reasons given, can be tested to determine their relative value, merit, strength - or weakness.

It is, then, with some humour, that we recently read of the British Parliament's move to change the succession rules for its (our) Crown. Gone are the days of favouring only men, they say. But, to follow Prime Minister David Cameron's argument to its logical conclusion - given the reasons stated for this change - we are led to the wholly different, yet ultimate and unavoidable conclusion, that the very institution of hereditary entitlement ought to be done away with.

Have a look at my most recent letter to the editor. I hope you see the humour in Mankind's blind adherence to tradition - it's pure, unabashed folly.

Let's not Meat

Janey and I have been working on becoming true vegetarians - eating (way!) less meat, cutting back on dairy and processed and refined sugars, and eating fewer eggs. Of course, it has not been easy, and temptation abounds, but we are committed to getting this right, eventually.

Over the past 5 years or so (since I made my first philosophical breakthrough on the ethical reasons for not eating meat) Janey and I have been casually researching the benefits of going green (leafed). To name a few, these are:

1) Animal interests concerns
2) weight loss
3) Cardiovascular health
4) Cancer risk reduction
5) increased vitality
6) Environmental impact decrease and sustainability

And, when my doctor told me last year to cut out meat - and that my cholesterol was too high to be healthy - I added that one to the list too: Cholesterol reduction. Her words: "Stay away from meat". Simple. Straightforward. Doable.

Furthermore, and aside from the selfish reasons to not eat (too much) meat noted above, there are many other-regarding reasons too. Most important, for me, are the benefits that extend to all our global brothers and sisters, and, of course, to our only home, Earth: By choosing meat - always - you are saying that deforestation for farm feedlots is "ok". By choosing another helping of beef, or pork, you are saying its "ok" to use precious resources to feed your appetite rather than feed the bulk of humanity who are hungry, or are poor. By choosing milk over soy, or tuna over tofu, you are saying its "ok" to contribute to an industry that, combined, produces more pollution globally per year than all the world's transportation infrastructure combined.

In this regard, I am reminded of one of my favorite passages in Henry David Thoreau's famous essay on Civil Disobedience, where he states:

"If injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine...let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth - certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be an agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn...I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live, but to live in it good or bad."

None of us, of course, can avoid all of the inherent contradictions of life. To live, is to use, to some extent, the world around us to our benefit. But what can be done, must be done. And to fail to correct or alter our path in the face of manifest injustice, is to wittingly lend ourselves to the wrong we plainly see.

So, Janey and I will continue, against the grain (for the most part) to forge down  this lonely thankless path - an unlikely one in Modern Western Society - together. We will continue eating our plants, eating our fruits and making our personal choices quietly, though for the most part, consciously. We will continue making what we reason are the best choices open to us - not because they are easy, of course, or because the bulk of society is with us, but simply because it is the right thing to do. Nothing more, nothing less. TDM

Post Script: (I came across a great little article from Earthsave Canada. Click this link to read the article. This article also prompted me to finally get around to writing this blognote.)