Does Evolution = Martyrdom ?

I can't count the number of conversations I have had with my husband regarding changes that need to be made in our (okay, MY) lifestyle in order to make life better for our soon-to-be-born child and thus, for the world. I understand his ideas and the goals behind them, but I can't help feeling like I will have to become a martyr for the cause.

To be clear, there are a few major topics over which we have had circular discussions which leave me understanding what I must do and the benefits, but at the same time hesitant about what I must sacrifice.
They are: TECHNOLOGY, ENTERTAINMENT, CONSUMERISM, FOOD and INSTITUTIONS

TECHNOLOGY: There are a few conveniences that my husband is more that willing to give up, but that I am still very resistant to. The major one on which we cannot seem to agree is not owning a clothes dryer. There is a washing machine in the basement, but no dryer. My husband simply washes his clothes and then hang dries them. Up until now, I have been bringing my laundry to my mother's house and washing it there while I visit. For some reason, I would rather lump my clothes to her house than have to wait for my items to dry (mainly because I often wait until I have begin to blur the lines of clean and dirty before doing laundry and at which point, cannot wait an extra day for things to dry).
With the baby coming any day, I am worried about this arrangement. I am no stranger to how much laundry this little munchkin will go through each day and I worry that hang drying or laundry lumping will be too time consuming. My mother and grandmother have offered to chip in and purchase a dryer for us, but my husband strongly protests. Although I COULD hang dry the baby's clothes (especially since the warm weather is approaching and we have a massive porch which faces the sun for most of the day) I worry that it will take too much time. For example, if the baby is napping and I have an hour or two to get some things done, I would rather not spend all of it fastening tiny items of clothing to a drying rack when I could just toss clothes into a dryer and move on to something else.
After many discussions, after which both of us feel dissatisfied with one anothers' unwillingness to budge, I have decided to give the no-dryer thing a change, but reserve the right to take my family up on their offer to buy us one if I feel the need. I don't feel as though I should have to become a pioneer in order to provide the child with a better life.
Technology (or lack there of) = Martyrdom

ENTERTAINMENT: My husband and I do not have cable hooked up in our apartment. We do have a television and a DVD player and subscribe to Netflix...most of our movie watching took place while I was on bed rest and now is limited to before bed at night. I'm sure that once the baby comes, it will hardly be used at all. This was not an easy change at first. I am (or was) a T.V. junkie and could often be found spending hours in front of the tube watching mindlessly awful programs such as "The Real Housewives of New York City" and "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew". I know that my time could be much better spent reading or cleaning or anything other than that and so I did not fight my husband for too long about getting cable hooked up. I still go to my mother's house on Tuesdays to watch LOST and can be found watching "junk food telelvison" downstairs in my mother-in-law's apartment, but overall the sacrifice is worth the gain. I feel much more stimulated by conversation and reading and as I said, the baby will not allow for such a waste of time to continue.
And although I may feel out of the loop when my friends and coworkers discuss the happenings on their favorite shows during our lunch break, it will be with a smile because I will think about the time I spent NOT watching T.V. because I was living my life with my family.
Entertainment? I am feeling like less and less of a martyr every day.

CONSUMERISM: Similar to Food, I also consume like an American. I let advertisements and labels tell me what items I need and then I buy them. I'm starting to discover that the majority of products that I used to purchase and thought nothing of, are easily made at home or substituted for much less harmful/wasteful products. For example, who needs Brillo pads when you have baking soda? In fact, who needs about 20 other household items when you have baking soda... it's quite the cure-all and is much less harmful to the environment than all of the things that it can replace.
I still, however, have been unable to give up using paper towels. My husband uses dish rags to clean even the most hideous of messes (these usually involve one of our dogs and will soon involve our child, to be sure). He wipes the mess and will return to the bathroom to rinse the rag several times until cleanliness is achieved. When I come across such a mess, I reach for the paper towels and use as many as necessary and then throw them away. My current excuse is that I am hugely pregnant and do not have the physical endurance to squat and wipe for longer than a few minutes, let alone travel back and forth from the bathroom to the mess, bending down each time (and taking even longer to get back up) in order to be less wasteful. My future excuse will most likely be that I am so busy with the baby, I just don't have time to do it his way. This sounds stupid, even to me, and thus I'm sure that eventually I will succumb to reusable resources. If I can agree to cloth diapers at home, I shoud be able to give up paper towels.
So therefore, martyr status for Consumerism: Minuscule

FOOD: I have been working on this one for a very long time and it doesn't seem to be quite as difficult as I had originally thought. (This fact makes me wonder if this is how I will eventually feel about ALL of the areas of change once I have been at them long enough.)
It has come to my attention that I eat like a typical American. For example, I am sometimes lazy and prefer to make something to eat that comes out of a box and can be popped in the toaster for 10 minutes, i.e. Ellio's Pizza. My husband refers to it as cardboard topped with ketchup and cheese. Why not MAKE a pizza and even *gasp* put some veggies on it? Although I consider such frozen treats to be comfort foods, I knew that he was right (and frankly, didn't want to listen to him about it anymore) so I bid a fond farewell to the frozen section of the grocery store.
We all know how Americans eat. Giant portions, too much salt, lots of meat and some items that push the limits of what can be recognized as "food" such as cheese in a can, etc.
We purchased the book, "Food Rules" by Michael Pollan. As I read it, I felt like the book was written by my husband. I realized that he wanted me to read it so that I would hear it from someone other than him. (For example, If your grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, it isn't.) So, I get it. Eat less like an American and more like someone who cares what goes into their body.
Although it is sometimes difficult, and I can be found eating at a restaurant chain with giant portions (which I never finish anyhow) and over-salted meat dishes, it is a rare occasion and one that I feel a tiny bit of guilt for afterward. My urge to do so is, in fact, dwindling.
I have given Pollan's book to my mother in hopes that when I go to her house for dinner, there will be some efforts made to eat "real food" there as well.
Overall, I discovered that sacrificing a few extra minutes and making something fresh makes a huge difference and is not as difficult as I had thought.
FOOD does NOT = Martyrdom.

INSTITUTIONS: This pretty much means public schooling. My husband is adamant about homeschooling our child. This was the first discussion we had when I first became pregnant that made me wonder if I had made a baby with the right person. Since I work as a teacher's aide in a public school, I was initially offended. Did this mean that he has no respect for the work I do?
Over months and months of discussion about what homeschooling can offer our child versus sending them to a public school simply because "I went and I'm okay", I began understanding where he was coming from. After a while, I starting looking around the classrooms and seeing that there was so much more that the kids could be learning, but because of things like budget and class size, the kids were more often than not, getting only the tips of many icebergs of knowledge.
When my husband started talking about curriculum and what we, as parents, can add to the standard, I began to see that sending our child to a public institution was out of the question. Now, he has taken it a step further and has begun discussing the relationship between schools and prions. Extreme, I know, or thought at first, but the similarities are awe-striking. We've been reading a book by Derick Jensen, one of his favorite authors called, "Walking on Water". Once again, it took another voice to help me see the method to what I once though was my husband's madness.
Why wouldn't I want to take the time to educate my child and teach him or her not only the basics, but also EVERYTHING ELSE?
Our child isn't even born yet and already we are facing adversity from friends and family regarding our choice to home school. They express concern for things like the child's socialization and feeling out cast. No matter what we say in response, we know that will just have to let them wait and see the results. We are more than confident that words will be eaten.
It was a long road for me, but I am happy to say that...
INSTITUTIONS = Martyrdom - AND PROUD OF IT!!!

Overall, I am getting there. What I have realized is that changes of this magnitude take time and a lot of effort and that it's okay to slip up from time to time. Things that I used to think of as non-negotiable are now common practice. The fact that we are even thinking of these things, let alone putting some of them into practice, is a big step and one that is already benefitting our baby. He or she will grow up with these things as normalcy instead of a struggle and will therefore find it much easier to live this ever-evolving lifestyle. We hope to surround this child with others who are at least entertaining the idea of doing the same.
If we all stay strong and do our best, difficult as it may be, perhaps evolution won't have to feel like martyrdom in as little as one generation from now.