Re: you know...
in reply to a message by guru
Oh, an ad hominem! How nice!
It appears that you missed my point. I don't need more education to know that sustainability does not have to depend on curtailing reproduction directly on an individual basis. That is very simplistic. A small reduction in the number of consumers does not necessarily mean less exploitation. It might even lead to more, considering all the incentives for exploitation. (I'm not insisting that it would, just trying to suggest that there is complexity to consider)
I don't think you should self-censor your beliefs at all. I think you should reconsider them, or at least reconsider your own emotional commitment to them. There is the possibility that it's you whose critical faculty is impaired by groupthink. Who are you thinking for, and who taught you what you think you know? Answer carefully. Have you ever really wondered, from where does the authority come, of the narrators of the researches that you invoke? Have you examined the meanings of the word "footprint," and do they all jibe perfectly with your values?
Accusing people of doing harm by having large families doesn't spread awareness, it's just an expression of your fear and loathing. I share your fear and loathing about environmental destruction - I just don't think that blaming my fellow citizens and their families is a positive action in any way whatsoever.
It appears that you missed my point. I don't need more education to know that sustainability does not have to depend on curtailing reproduction directly on an individual basis. That is very simplistic. A small reduction in the number of consumers does not necessarily mean less exploitation. It might even lead to more, considering all the incentives for exploitation. (I'm not insisting that it would, just trying to suggest that there is complexity to consider)
I don't think you should self-censor your beliefs at all. I think you should reconsider them, or at least reconsider your own emotional commitment to them. There is the possibility that it's you whose critical faculty is impaired by groupthink. Who are you thinking for, and who taught you what you think you know? Answer carefully. Have you ever really wondered, from where does the authority come, of the narrators of the researches that you invoke? Have you examined the meanings of the word "footprint," and do they all jibe perfectly with your values?
Accusing people of doing harm by having large families doesn't spread awareness, it's just an expression of your fear and loathing. I share your fear and loathing about environmental destruction - I just don't think that blaming my fellow citizens and their families is a positive action in any way whatsoever.
This message was edited 3/31/2012, 1:58 PM