Guilt and choices
I took my cousin to McDonald’s on the drive home today… and sitting in the drive-thru I had a revelation, so to speak.
Waiting in the drive-thru of any fast food restaurant, whether I’m the one eating or not, is an intensely embarrassing event for me. I find myself sinking into my seat even when no one is around, I avoid making eye contact with the workers, and I generally drive off as quickly as possible hoping that no one I know will recognize my vehicle leaving the parking lot. Eating and working at a fast food restaurant leave me with feelings of immense guilt all of the time. It’s not just the horrid nutritional value of the food, it’s the practices and the ideology behind the concept of ‘fast food.’ I like to think that the reason most fast-food workers seem so unhappy is because they, like me, are also ashamed of supporting such an atrocious industry. (In reality, I know that this theory probably accounts for less than half of said workers.)
This leads me to my point:
We are the choices that we make. The food that we buy, the employers that we work for, the organizations we support - these things are all a direct reflection of our values. (I understand not everyone has the convenience of being choosy about jobs in this economy, but bear with me here.) There’s a reason that we feel guilty about eating at McDonald’s… and it’s not just the calories.
I feel compelled to make a serious change in my choices. I’m lazy. I almost always choose convenience over what is ‘right.’ But convenience isn’t healthy nor is it sustainable. It’s not respectable, it’s not thoughtful. I feel from this moment forward, no matter how much it takes, I have to abandon convenience and take serious consideration into what is right before making any choices.
Here is to this point forward.
