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Originally Posted by desertgrandma
Anytime a decision is made for "moral, ethical, humanitarian or religious reasons," you automatically throw yourself on the side of "right", as you see it.
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Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that we believe our decisions are right for everyone. If the only way I could be a vegetarian meant importing food from a distance, using excess fuel, or by denying someone else what they need to eat, then I'd make a different decision. On a much simpler level, if I'm eating at someone else's house, I don't ask if the soup was made with chicken broth. I think being polite as a guest has some moral weight, too. I don't know what anyone else's circumstances are, so I don't claim to know what's "right" for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by desertgrandma
Yes, we all have the right to make our own dietary decisions......and the right to 'look askance' at those whose decisions differ from ours.
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I agree with the first point, but I'm not so sure about the second. If we "look askance" for caring reasons, e.g. worrying about someone else's health (or their karma, or whatever), then I suppose I would agree, but otherwise, I'd go with the "first remove the log from thine own eye" principle.
I just think it makes more sense to present our reasons for our own decisions as clearly and non-confrontationally as possible, and trust other people to do their best to do the right thing in their own situations.