Veg*nism and Politics
I'd rather have a discussion than a flame war, but we'll see what happens. :-)
The recent post about someone at the RNC holding a sign that said "vegetarians for McCain" generated a ton of comments from people that seemed to think that veg*nism and republicanism are inherently in conflict with each other. I've been vegan since I was 12 and republican since I was old enough to vote. I'm an active volunteer for the McCain campaign and I was a delegate to the RNC. (I just got back last night!) I've never seen these two parts of my identity as being in conflict. Sure, republicans are often surprised to find out I'm vegan, and vegans are often surprised to find out I'm a republican, but it has never been a huge issue for me. I know several vegetarian republicans personally, (but no vegans, but then I only have one vegan friend IRL). If anything, I see a lot of my republican principles (being prolife, for starters) go hand in hand with my vegan principles. Obviously animal rights don't tend to be a priority for republican politicians, but frankly, they aren't really for most more liberal politicians either. While animal rights are important to me, I am not a one issue voter!
While the dems have Kucinich, we have Matthew Scully, author of The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy is a prominent conservative... he was a speech writer for H.W. Bush, and one of the author's of Palin's recent speech at the RNC. Scully is not only a vegetarian but very serious about animal rights issues. He also wrote the essay entitled "Fear Factories: The Case For Compassionate Conservatism-- For Animals" which can be found online if you're interested. The internets are conflicted as to whether he's vegan or vegetarian, but one thing's for certain--With Scully there, I wasn't the only veg*n at the RNC!
So... How does your veg*nism inform and affect your politics? If you think veganism and republicanism (or conservativism, if you're not from the US) do not mesh well together, why? Are there any other conservative veg*ns out there in cyberland?
Finally, sorry for the US-centric aspects of this post. I know we have a lot of members that are from non-US countries, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the intersection between politics and being vegan in your life as well.
The recent post about someone at the RNC holding a sign that said "vegetarians for McCain" generated a ton of comments from people that seemed to think that veg*nism and republicanism are inherently in conflict with each other. I've been vegan since I was 12 and republican since I was old enough to vote. I'm an active volunteer for the McCain campaign and I was a delegate to the RNC. (I just got back last night!) I've never seen these two parts of my identity as being in conflict. Sure, republicans are often surprised to find out I'm vegan, and vegans are often surprised to find out I'm a republican, but it has never been a huge issue for me. I know several vegetarian republicans personally, (but no vegans, but then I only have one vegan friend IRL). If anything, I see a lot of my republican principles (being prolife, for starters) go hand in hand with my vegan principles. Obviously animal rights don't tend to be a priority for republican politicians, but frankly, they aren't really for most more liberal politicians either. While animal rights are important to me, I am not a one issue voter!
While the dems have Kucinich, we have Matthew Scully, author of The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy is a prominent conservative... he was a speech writer for H.W. Bush, and one of the author's of Palin's recent speech at the RNC. Scully is not only a vegetarian but very serious about animal rights issues. He also wrote the essay entitled "Fear Factories: The Case For Compassionate Conservatism-- For Animals" which can be found online if you're interested. The internets are conflicted as to whether he's vegan or vegetarian, but one thing's for certain--With Scully there, I wasn't the only veg*n at the RNC!
So... How does your veg*nism inform and affect your politics? If you think veganism and republicanism (or conservativism, if you're not from the US) do not mesh well together, why? Are there any other conservative veg*ns out there in cyberland?
Finally, sorry for the US-centric aspects of this post. I know we have a lot of members that are from non-US countries, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the intersection between politics and being vegan in your life as well.