October 2, 2021

Saturday schadenfreude: Prog thinks she can change nature: Suddenly (and hilariously) discovers that she can’t

By Thomas Lifson

Progressives are by their very nature contemptuous of the natural order of things. Everything can be improved by their superior intellects.  By virtue of the purity of their motives and the advanced understanding we have these days, they can impose policies that violate human nature, and, they think, prevail.  The Marxists are explicit in their promise that communism will create a “new man” (now updated to read “new person”).  Self-interest would no longer operate in the communist utopia that would follow the supposedly transitory period of “dictatorship of the proletariat.” “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” Never mind who chose to lay about and who chose to work hard….

Of course, human nature being immutable, the “vanguard” in charge of the “dictatorship of the proletariat” in every single Communist country has always held onto its own power and privileges and led societies where the gap between the lives of the elite and the masses dwarfed that of any capitalist system. Trying to change human nature – or any other aspect of the natural order (see, for example, Lysenkoism) – inevitably produces outcomes that are at best hilarious, and at worst, catastrophic.

Voluntary vegetarianism is not necessarily disastrous or even contrary to human nature (if you just ignore those specialized canine teeth that we come equipped with for ripping animal flesh prior to grinding it up farther back in the mouth.). But it does require great care to supply all the essential nutrients, and, in my observation, often leads to unfavorable outcomes. A highly educated young woman very close to me found a cure for many physical and psychological ailments when she gave up the vegetarianism that she had picked up from her environment of educated, affluent school and workplace associates. But, if you want to practice it, I have no objection and wish you all the best in maintaining your health.

But the problem with progressive zealots anxious to impose their superior understanding on others is that “voluntary” means nothing to them. Those who oppose them stand in the way of progress, and that’s a sin, especially to people who don’t believe in God or Natural Law.

The woman who made the video below, which is less than one minute long, has convinced herself that her dog – whose teeth are all “canine teeth” -- has been persuaded to become a vegetarian by her superior wisdom. I strongly suspect she is childless, and that her dog may be an attempt to fill the void that childlessness produces. That would partially explain her treating it as if reasoning would persuade it to follow her fantasy of its nature. But that speculation is not essential to the problem at hand where she discovers that she can’t change her dog’s dietary preferences. Her reaction is pure schadenfreude

I only hope that she is not abusing the animal in her care, and allowing it to eat more than broccoli. That would be inhumane -- which is often the consequence when progressives have the power to impose their vision on others.

Photo credit: YouTube screengrab (cropped)

Hat tip: Stephen Green, Instapundit

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