"Perhaps most people think that the job they have is barely enough to
cover their basic needs. The reality is different. You don't have to be
caught in a consumer way of life."
This is perfectly true, if and only if you make decisions about your own
life.
Whenever you're head of a family with children, things are different. Why?
First of all, you have to make more money compared to living alone. And:
living a very very simple life will make you different, and at least in
germany, separate you from what is called "normal" society..
I don't want my children suffer hostilities because I made an egoistic
decision concerning their life.
If you want to: I would give away _a little bit_ of freedom to protect them
from harm. I wouldn't give away more freedom because I want to be a good
example for them. But here you have to find a balance, and this behaviour
would be my way of balancing.
"But if I was in the same
situation I would press the university until they let me use free
software even with the risk of loosing my degree. I would do this even
if I though that a university degree would get me a better job (which I
don't)."
Well, if this is "just a degree", perhaps I would agree with you.
But think of someone who wanted to become a scientist his whole life, who has
a vocation, a passion and a dream.
Actually this is the case for me. As a scientist, I can not only live my
dream but also contribute to society.
No one has forced me to use non-free software, but if things would have been
different, I would have agreed to make this small exception.
Being a scientist I gained my personal freedom and can do good for society,
which is much more than I did harm to society and giving away freedom using
the proprietary software once.
So, this is of course not "good", but it's the lesser of two evils.
And a scientific university degree means in germany an extreme difference for
your economic initial position.
