Why I Am a Vegetarian
In October of last year I finally became a vegetarian, meaning that I chose to not eat meat products anymore. Technically, I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian because I do eat eggs (ovo-) and milk (lacto-) on occasion and not a vegan-one who doesn't eat any animal products. My first year as a vegetarian has been very revealing. Since adopting this new identity, I have learned a lot about myself as well as others. Here I write about why I am a vegetarian and what I have learned since becoming one. In doing so, I hope to dispel some misunderstandings about vegetarians and to reveal some unappreciated aspects about what it takes to become and remain a vegetarian. Please understand that I speak for one vegetarian and not for vegetarians in general.
Although vegetarians come in many forms, they are often thought to hold to a few set positions. Unfortunately, as is often the case, ascribing all (or most) vegetarians to specific camps is improper. One suspected position claims that it is wrong (or immoral) to eat meat-an act that obviously requires the slaughtering of the animal in question. Though some vegetarians hold to this position, I do not. While it is problematic that people eat excessive amounts of meat, eating meat isn't immoral in my view. And while I don't think meat eaters are somehow wrong, I certainly can understand and respect the position that eating meat is immoral. A second stereotypic position holds that vegetarians despise meat eaters. While there are certainly vegetarians that have issues with meat eaters, I suspect they are no more than the number of meat eaters that find vegetarians objectionable for some reason or another. I believe there are many acceptable ways to think and act and, thus, I don't begrudge those that eat meat or those that choose to think that it is immoral to do so.
The two primary reasons I choose to be a vegetarian are out of consideration for health (mine and others) and a sense of obligation to live a less-demanding, more equitable life. While some might think that these motivations are noble, I hardly think so. I think they are an ample mix of selfish and collective concerns, ones that recognize my desire to live a long, healthy life and at the same time wishing and allowing the same for others.
DiLorenzo was very successful in writing this book, Alexander Marriott states that he “reached a relatively wide audience of libertarians and conservatives.”(Marriott) DiLorenzo is very convincing in his book “The Real Lincoln” because of the many quotes and questions he presents to his audience. By persuading his readers to question all their formal beliefs of Lincoln he gets them to think Lincoln might be this monster that he portrays him to be. Lincoln probably was not a saint like many have made him out to be but he was still the man who demolished slavery and held the United States together during a tough period. By making such a historical figure look like a freud many refuted him, one article by Ken Masugi tells of how DiLorenzo misused quotes and made people believe they meant something by it that they did not. Masugi states DiLorenzo “frequently distorts the meaning of the primary sources he cites, Lincoln most of all.”(Masugi) Masugi then gives examples of how Dilorenzo misused quotes in his book. DiLorenzo’s book had strengths such as its persuasiveness, but also had weaknesses like his misuse of primary sources, and not only diminishing a few of Lincoln’s accomplishments but continuing by degrading his who he was as a
DiLorenzo evidently proves to find more faults in Abraham Lincoln and his decision process while he was president. Therefore, he wrote this book for one purpose. And that was to “cure the selective amnesia Lincoln’s defenders have promoted” (Ewers). This book promptly gives evidence throughout it to prove all of DiLorenzo’s statements about Lincoln. However, DiLorenzo failed to ever mention the opposing views. Although DiLorenzo may not have complied with Lincoln that still did not take away from the kind of leader Lincoln was. No matter what was thrown his way during his presidency, “Lincoln rose above his shortcomings and tackled, head on, the most challenging issue of his day” (Gamble). Without mentioning Lincoln’s strong points as well as his weak, DiLorenzo’s book has a lower qualification as a book of research and more of
Abraham Lincoln was elected as sixteenth president of the United States of America in 1861 and served until his assassination in 1865. He is viewed as a popular political figure and is known as the “Great Emancipator” for his role in freeing the slaves during the 1860s (Columbia University Press 2013, 1). He delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 that declared “all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforth shall remain free” (Columbia University Press 2013, 1). Although the Proclamation made Lincoln seem like a hero, others would soon realize that the proclamation was a war tactic and in reality did not put an end to slavery. In The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War by Thomas J. DiLorenzo, the reader will discover facts about President Lincoln that are not told in the average history book. Within the chapters of DiLorenzo’s book, he explains Lincoln’s true view on slavery, reasons for his political success, and why Lincoln encouraged war between the North and the South.
David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is a biography of our sixteenth President, Abraham Lincoln. At the age of twenty one, he was sure he did not want to be like his father Thomas Lincoln, an uneducated farmer, so he left his fathers house permanently. He had many jobs, learned many lessons, and made both friends and enemies, all which helped him to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States of America during the time the country had split, the Civil War. Thoroughly researched and excellently written, this biography comes alive and shows us what really happened during the early to mid-nineteenth century and it still puts us in the point of view of our former president, using the information and ideas available to him.
Looking back at the life of Abraham Lincoln, if you read about him before 1858, you wouldn’t think he would be such a predominant figure in American history today. It’s not till you learn about the election in 1860 and the events following that you learn what cemented this man, who would become our nations sixteenth president, into our nation’s history. If Lincoln had not won the election, perhaps our only memory of him would be his famous “House Divided” speech from the Illinois Republican Convention in 1858, but we learn from a young as, that isn’t the case. Lincoln went on the be the President during the bloodiest war in American history. Despite having little schooling as a child he would also write his own speeches before and during his
...to relocate the African-Americans to a part of the world where they could set up their own government. Lincoln again copied this notion and held on to it up until he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Fredrickson’s article provided insight into the background of Lincoln’s racial ideas that were under-developed in Donald’s book.
It is widely known that Abraham Lincoln, since his childhood, was never a fan of the south. Additionally, his father was a devout Christian, which played a major role in the development of Lincoln’s moral and ethical beliefs, which manifested themselves more so later on his life and would play a major part in Lincoln’s agenda during the Civil War. The idea that Lincoln may or may not have overstepped his powers during the process of preserving the unity of the United States will be looked at closely in the following paragraphs. This critical analysis will look at various sources with differing views in order to establish a solid conclusion as to why Lincoln was justified in the actions he took as President during the Civil War.
Throughout the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War the main problem was communism. Although the United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two, during the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union were known as enemies. The Soviet leaders bragged to other nations that communism would “scrape apart” free-enterprise systems around the world. This attitude angered the capitalists which led into the fifty year Cold War. The United States tried creating many tactics and strategies to contain the “bleeding” of communism, but during the cold war, communism spread faster then it could be restrained. The United States used the Marshall Plan , the Trueman Doctrine, and the Berlin Airlift to help lead people to a capitalist form of government.
In The Real Lincoln, Thomas J. DiLorenzo argues thematically throughout nine chapters about the misconception of Abraham Lincoln. He opens each chapter with an argumentative main body, and then provides sources and examples to back up his argument. In chapter two, the belief that Lincoln was the man who fought solemnly against slavery is questioned. DiLorenzo says that, “… Lincoln stated over and over that he was opposed to racial equality” (11). Before his reign as governor of Illinois and presidency, Lincoln ...
This reputation describes him as a “self-made” man, coming from a difficult family life. In his early biographies Lincoln portrayed that he came from a poor and uneducated family in which he defied on his path to success. He claimed, “I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life” (Hofstadter 122). By constantly putting himself down, and talking about his previous adversities he “placed himself with the poor, the aged, and the forgotten” (123). However, Hofstadter believed the reasoning behind Lincoln’s constant reminder of his struggles was just to gain sympathy and support in his political career. As historians later found out Lincoln’s family life gave him a much better start than he originally claimed (Winkle 2). Hofstadter set out to prove how Lincoln’s reputation as a “self-made” man was simply just a myth. By using his self-made ethic it advanced not only his political career, it had social and cultural functions as well. He exploited his humble beginnings and people flocked to his word. However, even if Lincoln being self-made was a myth, in believing so it helped to shape the course of Lincoln’s life, to leave his family, to become educated, and to go on to be one of the best president’s in our nation’s
Wilentz, Sean. "WHO LINCOLN WAS. (Cover story)." New Republic 240, no. 12/13 (July 15, 2009): 24-47. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 26, 2011).
The number of people becoming vegetarians these days is growing. There are a few different types of vegetarians, for example; the lacto-ovo vegetarian doesn’t eat any animal products except milk and eggs. Another type of vegetarian is the vegan, they exclude all animal products.
Vegetarians are uncomfortable with how humans treat animals. Animals are cruelly butchered to meet the high demand and taste for meat in the market. Furthermore, meat-consumers argue that meat based foods are cheaper than plant based foods. According to Christians, man was given the power to dominate over all creatures in the world. Therefore, man has the right to use animals for food (Singer and Mason, 2007). However, it is unjustified for man to treat animals as he wishes because he has the power to rule over animals. This owes to the reality that it is unclear whether man has the right to slaughter animals (haphazardly), but it is clear that humans have a duty to take care of animals. In objection, killing animals is equal to killing fellow humans because both humans and animals have a right to life. Instead of brutally slaying animals, people should consume their products, which...
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
However, many people still refuse to be a vegetarian for different reasons. Some people prefer the taste of meat, and some people believe that they are born to eat meat. Despite that about 2 billion people in the world live basically on the meat diet, around 4 billion people live mainly on a plant-based diet because of food shortage(Pimentel ＆ Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). As everyone knows, the number of population is growing. For example, the total U.S. population doubled in the previous 60 years, and it may double again in the next 70 years (Pimentel ＆ Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). People won’t have enough meat to eat in the future. On the other hand, a well-planned vegetarian diet offers many health benefits. Therefore, people should become vegetarian because it benefits to huma...