Holiday Idealism

With Christmas in the next few days, a good portion of the world is adorned with messages of cheer, hope, peace, and goodwill.

Aside from the irony in the way these messages are displayed, their intentions are honorable and I do appreciate a time of year when so many people think of family meals, sharing, and spreading happiness. And all this cheer got me thinking of something: the difference between an optimist and an idealist.

A lot of times, when I go off ranting about child labor or toxic chemicals in our food or the plight of US farmers, people tell me I'm too idealistic. Like it's a bad thing. Like hoping for a better future is just silly and not worth anyone's time. But idealism spreads hope and plants the seeds for change. Without idealists, most possibilities would never become realities.

Before the civil rights movement, how many people do you think were called idealists, and told to forget about it? Before the women's rights movement, before the gay rights fight began...

The difference, as I see it, between an optimist and an idealist is this. An optimist, when presented with the 50+ ingredients* in their strawberry flavored milkshake, shrugs it off and just decides everything will be ok, they probably won't ever be harmed by these toxins, anyways. An idealist turns down the milkshake, possibly in favor of something organic, and thinks, maybe we can change this. Maybe someday people will consume less chemicals, and we'll support real farmers who grow real, healthy food.

So this holiday season, let's support idealists. People who not only dream of peace and happiness, but work towards making them a reality.

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* Typical strawberry flavoring ingredients: Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent