I used to be a much more militant dietary vegan than I am now, but have toned down my rhetoric, largely because my ideas about diet fell on deaf ears. I would succinctly, accurately argue for a plant-based diet, and would be met with lame, selfish, childish diatribes that frequently ended with, “I don’t care! I like meat!”

“I don’t care” isn’t a legitimate argument for justifying any behavior. “I don’t care. I like meth!” “I don’t care, I like 11 year old boys!” Etc.

There is an article from the Associated Press today about the disappearing polar ice caps. “The Arctic ice cap will disappear completely in summer months within 20 to 30 years, a polar research team said.” News like this always summons more don’t-carers, who try to claim that the immense and obvious changes in the environment going on now are either imaginary, or simply a coincidence. It’s an oddly empty argument, since they don’t seem to be arguing FOR anything. They’re against conservation and green fuels and carbon reductions and all the rest of the current efforts to clean up our act, but what are they for? Simply, they are for making and having more money.

Think about it. Why would anyone be against conservation? Even if it didn’t have any effect at all on the environment, what would be wrong with burning less fuel and making less waste and using less water, except that they make money, a lot of money, selling us oil and selling us snack foods and selling us soft drinks and selling us bigger cars and selling us, well, capitalism?

Who, I know you are asking, are “they.” Ironically, they are called conservatives. And they don’t care. They like money.