What if we never questioned modern-day practices?

I stared a bit of a controversy last night on Facebook. I wrote how excited I was about trying out my new purchase: Gro Baby Diapers! My sister volunteered her opinion, which she is entitled to, regarding the "trendiness" of cloth diapers, to which I responded:

By definition, a trend is something that's new and generally doesn't last very long. Disposable diapers weren't really mainstream until the 1950s, and already cloth are making a come back. So, if anything, the disposable diaper is the trend, when you consider diapers have been around since modern man walked the earth (documented since the Egyptian times, I just learned through my quickie research).

A few other valuable comments made by myself and others included:

Jennifer said: If anything is a trend, it is parents taking the time to educate themselves about the decisions they make. Most parents don't think of disposables as a decision, but rather as the default. They have only been around for 25-30 years as a viable option for full-time diapering and they have come a long way. Perhaps disposables are a trend that is finally passing.

I said: McDonalds - go through a drive-thru, grab your drink, entree, side dish, dessert in convenient disposable containers with disposable silverware. You don't have to go to the store, turn on your stove, or wash a dish. Brilliant, right?? We should eat it every day, right?? The same is true of disposable diapers, jarred baby food, baby formula, etc. - they are fairly effortless...but is it BEST? Is McD's BEST just because it's convenient?

I said:  All I really have to say is this, when making a decision for your family, what is most important to do is make sure that it's an ACTIVE decision because you've actually thought about your options and chosen what is best for you collectively.

It's like religion...people blindly follow religions because they don't take the time to analyze how different components fit into their lives, how they really feel, or what they actually believe. I don't want to follow blindly because it's the "trend" or because someone else says it's "best." I want to feel informed and go from there.


So to continue with this idea of "accepting modern-day practices without questioning them," consider the following.

Slavery would still exist in this country.

Women would not have the right to vote, go to college, own property, hold real jobs, or have abortions.

People would frequently die from things like snake bites and polio, and pregnant women would be given thalidomide.

We wouldn't have electricity, telephones, computers, televisions, radios, etc.

Necessity may be the mother of invention - but it takes informed consumers to figure out what we actually need and want to purchase.


P.S. I think I have already fallen in love with our new diapers!