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[persipone]

I have just finished the first week of my second year of medical school. Class was good, I've been studying some (though not today), and I think the year will go fine. So, being me, I'm thinking about other things

Comments

[bluedoran]

Well, I am also dealing with a similar recent vow I have made. I am eating and buying fewer animal products. Also, I try to buy from co-ops that have local produce. The thing is, it's sixty more cents per pound at least. But I think it helps something in the world. I bought vegan climbing shoes today, but don't know where or how they were made. They're sweet though, and I bought them at REI. I didn't know that about Victoria's Secret bras, and the only bra that fits me in the world goes on sale tomorrow. Do I buy it: probably yes. Am I a hypocrite: maybe. I'm struggling with how to live responsibly and still stay alive. It's a difficult thing.

[persipone]

The price is the tough thing that I've been working on. On the one hand, I'm ok with the idea of spending more money and buying less shit- getting quality instead. But the more we spend, the more we're dependant on the whole money-making system which is the actual problem. And, on some level, price represents cost. Lots of supposedly more sustainable technologies are actually less sustainable, i.e. the require more resources put into them, and this is represented by an increased cost. For instance, recycling. If everyone recycled everything, it would take less resources. But the half-assed way most jurisdictions do it actually does more harm than good, because of the energy it requires and because half of the "recycling" is contaminated and has to be discarded. So what's a self-respecting environmentalist to do?

[soleilfire]

the best advice i ever read was from a book called Nights of Love, Days of War (or maybe the other way around) which basically said, "Look - if you start off by accepting that there will be some level of hypocrisy then you are a lot more likely to make changes that are significant and sustainable for your personal life

[persipone]

I get you with the "anything but a natural structure communal village". I continue to believe that medicine is a worthy career, but I can't really pursue it in a non-industrial setting. MRIs are overused, but they're better than letting a patient die of a brain tumor you couldn't diagnose or treat; the full range of technology offers lifesaving advantages. And what good does it really do to withdraw from society and write off everybody who isn't in your commune? You minimize your own impact, but do nothing to change the society at large.

I think accepting the necessary hypocrisy is the answer, or at least part of the answer. So I'm trying to do what I can, and I recognise that it will never be enough.

[persipone]

I agree that we must choose our battles. But I can't help but be frustrated with the realization that this means I will inevitably take more from the world than I will give to it- I don't think there's any way to avoid it in our society.