and yet I'll feel guilty if I don't go and hear it blown.
It's a little ridiculous -- I'm eating apples and agave nectar to symbolize the hope of sweetness in the year to come (as honey doesn't jibe with me), and yet I'm about to observe the tradition of hearing a man blow a ram's horn like an instrument.

They did say prayers as they slaughtered the ram, surely. If ever there was a conscientious, "respectful" way to kill an animal without taking it for granted, it's probably in the production of religious equipment and whatnot. And really, even if we could clean up our food production practices, religion is another story...

Anyone care to chime in?
My gut says to go, but leave before they blow the shofar. If there's one thing about Jewish tradition that I admire, it's its longevity, and we didn't survive all these generations by being namby-pamby about our ideals. Therefore, in deference to the spirit of Jewish hard-headedness, I refuse to support the shofar. I will go, but leave before they blow, and let the new year be marked by a real and thorough sweetness of heart. Can I git a a-MEN?!