Society

People offer to give me food almost everyday. I had never really thought much of it, but now I have to decline almost all of such requests.For some reason declining food someone has offered you on ethical grounds can be a bit awkward. A holy than thou attitude is how I feel I am coming off if I just say I am not eating packaged foods.I almost always feel the need to explain to people that I am just doing a project for one of my classes and that this isn't how I normally eat. The fact that I feel so inclined brings up important questions about myself in the culture we live in. Why do I feel like I shouldn't take a public stand on food? Can it be that people who take stands on foods, vegans and vegetarians come to mind, are seen as trying to push their ideology on people? Or is it just awkward for me to do as an individual? Honestly I do not know for sure which option is more true. I have felt in the past that vegetarians always seem to think they are somehow being more virtuous than everyone, and that annoys me and I am sure other people as well. But why? Aren't people who are willing to put whata they believe in first instead of their taste buds or convenience acting in a more virtuous way than everybody else? Why do they have to feel like they feel like they shouldn't be seen as more caring? People like them should feel free to try to get people to change to better themselves and the planet.

It could also be me. This avenue is a bit less interesting but should be explored. Maybe I just feel awkward expressing such beliefs in front of people, especially since the only reason I am pursuing them is for a class paper. But why do I feel like that? I feel like there are indeed societal pressures that want us not to challenge the status quo. We are not encouraged to act against what has become a norm. Even in college, where we are the most free we will ever be, we are still governed by a fairly limiting set of rules. I guess this is what forms a functioning society, but at the moment it feels like this typw of society has a bit of an anti progressive undertone.