Dixana, I do owe you an apology. You certainly never saw
that coming. It might be the teacher in me, but I like to see people think for themselves. I fear conformity, always have. Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate and admire your sentiments. I think it's wonderful that you want to change the world. My greatest concern, in a nutshell, is that the world must be receptive to the message revolutionaries hope to impart.
Additionally, revolutionaries must recognize that not all people want or are ready to be saved. Those who don't want to be saved will react negatively to your actions. Those who aren't ready to be saved must be coaxed along. Every action generates an opposing reaction. By pushing too hard, you can actually compel someone to the dark side, given the natural
homo sapien reluctance to admit to error.
Odds are high your stepdad belongs to the former category. If he's been messing up the environment for that long, he will likely resent any interference on your part, and you will be wasting your time. Even worse, your very presence will possibly cause a twinge of guilt he will manfully gulp down while anger rises to supplant it. You will pay next Christmas. He will see to it.
The newlyweds next door have potential. In my opinion, setting an example beats the holy heck out of telling them. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned that all he or she had to do was pass out some organic vegetables to change people's thinking. Perhaps once your garden is going and thriving and making their garden look like something out of a horror movie, you will see change.
It may be nearly imperceptible at first. One day, you will watch them drag two bags of compost from their trunk. Two weeks later, you will see them unload one of those compost machines. While out watching your garden grow, you will catch a glimpse of them peering over the fence, watching your compost tea brew. Three years from now, they will be knowingly telling you that Bud Light will not work on slugs, that Michelob 64 is the route to go.
You will nod sagely and say nothing. You will know you have made a difference, and that will be enough for you.
Don't feel sad when people won't listen. Tolerate and even appreciate the differences in opinion. Then, switch your method of communication
As for me, I have not spoken with my cousin's wife in over 18 months, not since she used Miracle Gro fertilizer on the organic garden I painstakingly prepared for her in 2009. I still get angry, just thinking about it. Chemicals are okay, again in my opinion, as a last resort. However, to waste a perfect garden and forever sully all that soil just so she could grow a bigger tomato and earn the admiration of her friends, well, she
must be mentally unhinged
