Dogma is Fun! (on vegetarianism)

When asked last by a friend last night, "what kind of vegetarian are you?" I admit I felt empowered at that moment. I'm only a vegetarian for 40 days, and I can eat seafood if I want. I felt empowered because I'm the one who makes the rules, not any church, not the Catholic/Mormon/Anglican church, not the book of Leviticus, nor the Qur'an. Not PETA. Me. If I so chose, I could only give up meats ending in "n". Or I could just keep on eating meat when I feel like it.

There's a risk though, of becoming dogmatic when discussing the issue with other vegetarians/vegans. They might get their rules from other places, and they might question where you get your ideas. And you might be tempted to believe that your set of rules for what may and may not be eaten is better than theirs. Meanwhile, they're thinking the same thing about you. Obviously, I do think my method is best, and to an extent, it is also everyone else's method. No one can force anyone else to abstain from certain kinds of meat.