They say that there are three aspects to judging mental health. Your image of yourself, others' image of you and then the reality of what you really are.
So, I wanted to create this blog where I could continuously update all the hypocrisy I encounter in daily life in America. It's not for bashing, but observation purposes only. I think the rest of the world must think we're incredibly insane, given what we say vs. what we do.
Of course, there is a "good" and "bad" side to everything, but to push controversy in the background and forget about it does not solve any of these issues.
For instance, over 10 million adults in the United States regularly smoke marijuana. It is, technically, less dangerous than alchohol. And yet the United State federal government classifies it on the same level as opiates and other highly addictive drugs. There is a high rate of crime associated with its sale and distribution that could be completely eliminated if it were legal, not to mention all the badly needed state and federal revenue that could be accumulated by the government by taxing it the same way cigarettes and liquor is taxed.
I just don't get it. It's obvious that a major portion of the population feels it should be legalized, for compassionate medical reasons, if nothing else, and yet we continue to deny its pervasive use.
Then there is our attitude toward pornography. It is so, so illegal in so many ways, and yet I hear over and over again that the major portion of internet traffic is dedicated toward pornography in one way or another. What's with that?
And what is it about being a corporate CEO that entitles them to (sometimes) hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation per year? I can't see that anyone needs that kind of money for anything, and it's money that rightfully belongs to stockholders, and yet each tiny, individual stockholder has such a small voice that the only clout belongs to those who own a majority of the shares, which means (you guessed it) the Boards of Directors and Officers of the corporations vote their own salaries and compensation without any significant oversight.
These are just a few of the inequities I see all around me every day, and I could expound on most of them for hours and hours and hours. I would, indeed, love to hear others' views and share their experiences.
posted by Alicia Coral @ 9:23 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I agree, Being an ex pot-head that Marijuana should be leagalized, the amount of money that is used to fight it could be better directed towards better causes, such as protcting our boarders from illeagle imigrants (but that is a whole nother subject). More people die at the hands of Alcohal every day then Marijuana , and the deaths accoiated to Marijuana are due to it being illeagle ( Gang activity,and such). I no longer smoke Marijuana, and no longer wish to, but dont condem those who wish to, for medical, or recreational, it is not that addictive, If I could quit after 15 years of smoking it, than surely it is not an addicitve substance.
Good for you, rooster! I did it when I was a teenager, and then quit for 20 years while I raised my kids, and now indulge again now that I am in my 50's. I find that those who do/did are usually more creative and even more intelligent in a lot of ways than those whose who don't/didn't. I think the government should be able to tell you the pros and cons of all herbs/medicines/drugs and leave it to us to decide what we want to imbibe and what we don't. Sometimes I think the only way for sane voices like ours is to post on the internet.
Sane? Hardly. ha hah. It's just cos i know you.
The hypocrisy in the American political system still astounds me. I'm sure at least once a day, when I look on Slate.com or get the Washington Post in my email, that system is so, so, so skewed.
to address marajuana use, i believe it has great benefits to the people that like to use it. As you know, i'm not much for pot, but the other day, I was having some severe anxiety issues, but could not calm down (not even after the traditional sacrament at half-past rum O'clock). I've got some serious problem that I have to face with everyday, and so it was no surprise that i was still stressed, but the stress wasn't a good sort of "let's get shit done" sort of stress, instead, it was this debilitating confusion and I didn't know what to do. my roommate sat me down and we had a little talk, I took a hit, and suddenly it was clear to me what i was stressed about, and also, what the solution was, and so i got something done about it and was able to relax after. Sometimes, marajuana can clear up my cluttered little brain enough to allow some progress.
Every drug is different for different sorts of people, and yes, there are some adverse health side-effects. My friend Klute can't smoke anymore because he's had a congenital heart condition corrected by surgery, and now has to take blood pressure medication; a little known fact about this drug is that it actually can raise your blood pressure and heart rate. This would be bad for Klute. It also will completely reset your metabolism, because it is a depressant, and slows the metabolism down, then, your body over-corrects and speeds back up again. this is why you get the munchies, however, some people get stoned and fall asleep before the metabolism rises again, thus avoiding the munchies until later, and then you get the stereotypical skinny stoner. conversely, if you make it to the state of high metabolism, eat, and then smoke again, your metabolism slows down again before you have the chance to digest it, therefore, you get a fat stoner. Since I have issues regarding my metabolism, I know to take special care in how I take care of myself if I do smoke, which is rarely.
I realize that's a long little diatribe on weed, but I think the most contributing factor to America in Denial on this issue are biased preconceptions and misunderstanding, as well as mis-education or no education at all.
Regarding sex and pornography, I think that a lot of the more adamantly anti-genitalia sort of people really have got a good understanding of "the problems" associated with pornography, but once again, it seems to me they've not got the right solution.
"the problems" as they've been explained to me are not necessarily even moral problems, but issues which can lead to psychological unrest, and even illness. The reasons why are not that sex itself or pornography itself is bad, but rather, the societal attitudes towards is, because what people really don't understand is that sex is a drug. Really, a healthy medication. After sex, your brain releases all sorts of feel-good chemicals into your body, and hey, it's even some great exercise, but like any opiate, it gets addicting.
The problem with that is there's no education out there about the old porno industry adage "the more you have the more you want." It's true, but there's nothing wrong with it when it's engaged by consent. (Now regarding Child Pornography, an issue that really needs addressing, because that is all about people who have been abused and need to abuse others to get off, which is not so much a healthy thing, but rather, something that must be corrected with much much therapy. This doesn't get done in our current corrections system, and I can't even think of a health program that even provides this service in the private sector, though, I have heard rumors of programs like this existing in more civic minded societies).
The solution for this is just education, but on a different level. Adults need to be the target of some intense education. like, if you ask me personally, I would say education involving whips and chains. Maybe even garter belts, fishnets, and corsets, but only if you've been a good boy.
hah hah.
I see what you're getting at with the gap in monetary stability between the CEO and the average worker. I think that, really, is a blog for another time and place, because it is essentially tied up in the American Cultural Identity, e.g. land of milk and honey, opportunity, and the right to pillage, rape, and consume to get what you want. It's dog-eat-dog liberalism at it's most twisted and hurtful.
What astounds me are so called conservative ideologues who continue to embezzle, spend lavishly, engage in morally awkward situations, and screw the hell out of the people that look up to them the most.
more on this later i'm sure.
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