There are millions who feel as I do. So why has there not yet been an effort to organize neath a unitary banner? Of course we cannot discount the sheer complexity of an operation of this sort, which involves more than simply screaming in the streets and will require an organized effort as such that may be daunting to all but the most fervent. It goes beyond simply forcing people to accept our definitions and ideals—which is not only unethical, but out-and-out ineffectual, capable of breeding not more than hostility in the population; and any honest effort at changing the tides must involve more than beating your chest and demanding subservience from the masses. I would also think that it is more difficult to train the population to think for itself and form its own conclusions rather than to just force a set of conclusions upon them; so I am not kidding around when I say that this will necessitate the involvement of a most knowledgeable, discerning and creative bunch.

There will be many who interject to what I have to say with “If it was that easy then we would have done so by now,” though let me just add emphasis to the fact that in all of human history, society at large has never actually made emotional intelligence and self-awareness a focus, let alone a priority. This is somewhat understandable when you consider that we are still coming to an understanding of what we are at a very basic, elemental level and psychology as a field has only been around for approximately a century at this point. So while it would be wrong to say that these are new concepts with which we are working, they are somewhat new to us in a formal, or structured sense, and that must be factored into the equation. Though to carry on any longer in this way, shirking the knowledge with which we have been entrusted, would be positively criminal.

In a world that is steered by few, we are fools to think that the individual carries no weight. Thus, you must not resign yourself to queues and dice cups and voting booths in this life so potent. And you ought to be wiser than to eat the lie that all such victories innately require unscrupulous and dastardly behaviors. The longer we believe the lie that only the hollow ones rise to the top, the fewer of us dedicate ourselves to actually learning how to swim.

Though I can understand if all this effort seems pointless to you—not only due to all the skepticism (and plausible opposition) that it is likely to incur, but because we already have a plethora of so-called leaders, institutions and brands masquerading as satisfactory solutions to the problems with which we are faced; yet if we opted to view all things so trustingly then we could also sit back before the commercials on our televisions and believe that there is no reason to manufacture healthy and organic foods when we already have enough fast food and candy and other junk foods to keep our stomachs nice and full (said by those who have no concept of health and believe that the quality of our diet is not as important as basic fullness and subsistence). Indeed, most overlook health as a concept altogether, looking only to the generalized (and, in my opinion, misunderstood) dichotomy of ‘life’ and ‘death’.

I feel like the aforegiven analogy works on multiple levels, since not only am I viewing our collective goal, as Comprachicos, to create a healthy alternative to those institutions and prevalent norms which amount to cancer, obesity and grogginess of the human spirit, but as a lifelong vegetarian I can still recall a time when your standard supermarket and restaurant chain did not stock vegetarian options, or we would only have these unappetizing garden burgers that hardly seemed interested in disguising the fact that they were just vegetables compacted into patty form. In the past two decades alone we have seen a marked change in our approach to vegetarianism and veganism, which are no longer viewed so much like an alternative lifestyle as they are seen as ‘one option among several’; and one aspect that really fueled that change was the adoption of these ideals by trendsetters who, in turn, made these choices appear fashionable and ultimately desirable before a world which may have initially valued certain superficial ideals over their own health (and the well-being of animals).

Likewise, in the beginning we may be working with prototypes that very obviously differ from the standard; though as time goes on, may we find the means to maintain our status as a healthy alternative while also having successfully procured a means to replicate the very quality and texture that people find so desirable in the unhealthy options (if it is in anyone’s best interest to do so).

The end goal, as I see it, is simply a society in which these matters are being addressed, desired and considered with all the commonness that our modern masses consider the movies that they watch and the clothing that they wear. The fact that it is yet to happen does not mean that it should be written off as a pipe dream. It is simply the case that we, as a species, are still coming to grasp the ingredients with which we are working. God, oh god, the cookies are acoming.

This may not spell an end to conflict and disagreement within our world, but it cannot be denied that the majority of our dichotomies and divisions, be them political or elsewise, arise from ignorance and would not exist, or at least have the same presence, within a ‘conscious’ world in which every individual truly and sincerely valued the well-being of themselves and others. The reason is simple: healthier people make healthier decisions. And it is such a simple conclusion that it goes overlooked (and even mocked) by them who would rather remain obstinately within their forever-cages.

Truly, I do believe that the problems that most of us have with “the world” could die out in a single generation if only those of us who feel passionately about humanity and its welfare—mental, emotional, spiritual, physical—were to actually take an active stance instead of turning our back in futility and/or outrage to the unhealthy plains.