Courage is often mistaken for insanity

That quote was taken from the movie Iron Jawed Angels, which is about the women's suffrage movement.  While they were trying to claim Alice Paul was insane, the doctor simply said "In women, courage is often mistaken for insanity."

This is a universal statement, not exclusive to women.  Anyone that has courage to stand up for what they believe is right, even though it may go against popular belief, are deemed crazy.  How many times have you been called crazy as a vegan?  It takes courage to not take part in the willed ignorance and excessive cruelty that goes into the consumption of animal products.  It's courageous when you talk to your friends and family about your veganism and stand your ground when you are faced with scoffs, ridicule and unfounded claims.  Every time you sit down for a meal, you are acting courageously.  Like any other social justice movement, we will struggle, but we have truth and justice on our side.  We are fighting for the rights of not just animals, but for the people working the the agriculture industry, the environment, our health, and the millions of starving people in the world.  We start with our plates and we take these ideals out into the world.  If you haven't started becoming an activist, then start now!  Sure, you're saving about 90 animals a year by not consuming animal products yourself, but think of all the animals you can save by influencing those around you?  Veganism is entering the vocabulary and it's not going away.  We need to give these animals a voice, because they can't speak up for themselves.  Please, do what you can to help.

A simple thing that I do, (other than this blog), is use my Facebook page for my advocacy.  How many friends do you have on Facebook?  Hundreds, right?  Well, think of how many people will see the articles or comments you post every day if you just write something about veganism or animal rights?  Post pictures of your favorite foods even!  I post at least one article and "like" many posts by animal advocates.  All your favorite activists are on there.  One of my very favorites is Erik Marcus' http://vegan.com/blog/.  He is one of the best advocates out there.  He blogs about articles in the media pertaining to animal rights and veganism (especially food stuffs!).  He wrote Meat Market, which is about dismantling the meat industry.  here It's a great read!  It was one of the first books I read when I moved out of the kitchen and onto my soap box.  

Here are some great sites to get you started:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/
http://www.ourhenhouse.org/
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/
http://www.humanesociety.org/
http://www.peta.org/