The Alignment was thrilled to see Billie Eilish win the Oscar for best original song.
And not just because Eilish is a fellow vegan advocate. (Although that does qualify as reason alone.)
The main reason I'm so pleased that her song “What Was I Made For?” won the Oscar is because of the song itself, regardless of who wrote and performed it.
It is beautiful, haunting and overflowing with gravitas. I get chills every time I listen to it. The song does nothing less than pose the ultimate existential question.
What was I made for?
Barbie/Billie isn’t the only one asking this.
The question applies to all of us.
Fortunately, The Alignment has the answer. Or at least an answer.
Let’s start with the obvious: None of us made ourselves. Our birth parents did that for us. That was the fun part.
I’m not the only one who has to confront the sobering reality that I was made … for no reason at all. I was completely unplanned. Unintentional.
My parents had finished having children 11 years prior. Two parents. Two children. It was a fair fight.
But a sperm and an egg had other ideas. Surprise! Here comes Child No. 3.
So, like so many of us, I was left to my own devices to figure out the meaning of life.
Fortunately, that wasn’t too difficult. Once it dawned on me, I could only shake my head and wonder why I hadn’t figured this out sooner. In fact, it cracks me up that philosophers and theologians have been wrestling with this issue for several millennia.
Let me explain.
We share this planet with about 8 billion humans and about 2 million species of non-human animals. What do all these living, breathing, pooping beings have in common?
We are all self-aware, we can all suffer physical pain, and we all value our lives.
So what were we made for?
The answer is simple and straightforward. The meaning of life is to avoid causing other living beings to suffer, and to take the extra step of alleviating the suffering of others, whenever feasible.
That’s it.
And this is why I’m vegan.
I can’t completely avoid being a party to the suffering of others. Sadly, that just isn’t realistic for any of us.
But as an ethical vegan, I can minimize the suffering I’m causing to the greatest extent possible.
It’s not a stretch, then, to conclude that the meaning of life is to be vegan.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but it is a fact: A vegan wrote “What Was I Made For?”
Editor’s Note: Yes, I know Billie and her brother Finneas, when they accepted their award, were wearing those red lapel pins that express support for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict (and for the safe return of all hostages). This does not make her an antisemite. Please refrain from posting any comments about what a terrible person she is for wearing that pin or what a terrible person I am for praising her songwriting. I promise to address what’s going on in Israel, and with American Jews, in a future Alignment post. Soon.
Great! Already looking forward to your next post.