i don't think it's likely to happen in my lifetime, but i think there will be periods of time within my lifetime when the American public would be willing to elect a vegetarian president if somebody that was otherwise appealing came along. i don't know if they'd be willing to accept a president who endorsed vegetarianism as objectively good on the basis of secular ethical considerations, but i think somebody who was a vegetarian for clearly personal reasons, especially medical reasons, would be relatively electable. i also think somebody who was a vegetarian for religious reasons might be electable at some point in the next few decades, if they could get over the funny religion issue more generally (maybe a Republican Sikh*?)
what Americans aren't willing to elect, and won't be willing to elect at any point in the foreseeable future, is somebody they think is judging them for eating meat.
*from a certain perspective, the symbolism of the kirpan has a lot of potential resonance for the open carry movement. just sayin'. sure, these days the American right doesn't like anybody wearing a turban, but that's a made-up-enemy-of-the-moment thing, and those tend to rotate in and out on their own.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
6/11/10 00:57 (UTC)what Americans aren't willing to elect, and won't be willing to elect at any point in the foreseeable future, is somebody they think is judging them for eating meat.
*from a certain perspective, the symbolism of the kirpan has a lot of potential resonance for the open carry movement. just sayin'. sure, these days the American right doesn't like anybody wearing a turban, but that's a made-up-enemy-of-the-moment thing, and those tend to rotate in and out on their own.