Have you been made to feel guilty for not being a “pure” gardener? Do you slip the occasional hybrid crop into your backyard garden when no one is looking? Hang your head no more! Hybrid seeds have their uses and they are not likely to cause the destruction of vegetation on the earth. (I only say “likely” because, well, the future hasn’t actually happened yet, so I like to leave a little room for my lack of omniscience…) Delve into a little bit about the history and definitions of hybrid seed to see that many of the common claims against them are not all that accurate or important.
It is easy to get caught up in the popular causes of the day, but if you look at most of the people who are proclaiming “how we should live” to save the earth, they don’t really do it. They preach it in a few pet areas, but they have enough reliance on the modern world so as to make them questionable guides for such purity. I’m not saying we shouldn’t talk about options and interesting ideas, but let’s be less pious about it and more realistic about what we know and don’t know. And how we are really willing to live given the choices we have.
And let’s make sure we know what we think we know. Let’s really dig into the information before we make such strong value judgements about other people’s character and choices. Let’s maybe even hold off on some of the judgements about intent after that. I can decide someone doesn’t have the same priorities as me without relegating them to the role of evil empire. Although, there are some people out there that are truly trying to set up their own evil empires, but that is not even within the capability of most of my neighbors and friends. True, there are some people who are not interested in facts, as there are some people who are just selfish, but let’s take some time (in most cases) before firmly labeling them as such.
If you have your concerns and opinions, that’s fine. Just be honest about your own tendencies toward worry. I, for instance, live in constant fear that another of my children could die at any moment. I am not, however, going to insist that the rest of you lower all the speed limits to 20 mph so that I can have inner peace. (Our daughter died from cancer, but the dangers of driving are visible every day.) Or that there be no tall buildings because I am very uncomfortable with heights. For a positive example, I think (and I have scientific evidence to prove it!) it would be much healthier if everyone went around with bare feet a lot more. Should I push for legislation, since it is for your own good? Well, no matter what you think, I’m not going to. I will talk about and live according to what interests me and I find important. If you don’t want to listen, you don’t have to. Meanwhile, I will have fun planting some hybrid seeds while wandering around barefoot in my garden.
