DRUGS!
My libertarian side rears its ugly head big time whenever this subject pops up. If there is any subject that more draws the differences between the two main parties and the libertarians in more stark relief it has to be druge. But I'm not entirely sold on the purely libertarian point of view.
Democrat point of view - We're not sure drugs should be legal. We'll all for any anti social behavior (of which being a homeless drug adict of crack whore is one) and be feel you should be able to do anything with your body, however our uncontrollable need to make everyone unhappy and share our hatred of America puts us in conflict. If we legalize drugs that will make people happy, and being a Democrat (and liberal) is not about being happy, it's about being pissed all the time and screaming at people.
Republican point of view - The use of drugs is an abuse of your body, and is not 'moraly right', so this is bad. There is also some belief that it is forbidden by God, and that is even worse. We can't reconcile that God made all plants and animals for us to use, but whatever. Getting drunk and slapping around the wife and kids is okay, but toking up a doobie and passing out over a bowl of cheetos is bad.
Libertarian point of view - Amsterdam in the Netherlands has good a good idea. but they're way too conservative! Now if there were vending machines with crack, pot, acid and condoms in the elementary schools, you'd be more on track. Just a minute, I need to reload my bowl.
This is really a lot simpler than it looks. We're practicing a sort of moral relatvism. By picking and chosing what sort of 'sin' we allow, we're making fools of ourselves. Beer and tobaco, go for it. Smoke a joint, or do a little acid and you go to jail. There really is no difference. For a time alcohol was treated just like marijuana is now, with nearly identical results. Crime jumped around cities, there was rampant and uncontrollable smuggling, thousands went to jail and hundred died who were guilty of doing nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
All you have to do is look at the alarming stats. Two out of five prisoners in many states are in jail for drug related crimes, the majority of them for non-violent crimes (minor possession being the most common). I'm not just talking about legalizing something to take away the crime, I'm talking about leveling the moral playing field. As a society fairness needs to be considered. You cannot have one social drig legal, and another not. I'm not suggesting making herion and crack legal, or any other known dangrous drugs. But we have to be realistic here. Tobaco and alcohol both have KNOWN and SIGNIFICANT health risks. How can we justify alowing them, and not marijuana, ectsasy, and a few other relatively safe drugs. As a society you have a clear choice. Allow some of these drugs for those who chose to excecise their FREEDOM in this way, and not the ones that are outright dangerous. Or allow none at all. Arguments can be make that they all should be illegal, and I can see many of them. But can you see the results of trying this approach? Do we go back down the prohibition road? I can see this coming for tobacco. Good luck with that one boys. If you can't stop drugs, how in the hell do you expect to stop cigaretes?
I'm forced to categorize the war on drugs and our societal love affair with making the less sexy ones illegal as nothing more than an excercise in elitism. They are an attempt to swell the roles of the law breakers. How else can a government have power, if there aren't people to put in jail? Try to go through a day in your life without breaking a law, and good luck with that. Smoking a joint is one or a few people trying to get pleasure. It's often a social thing for some. Do people go insane and lose themselves in pot? Sure, and they do with booze too. When a society cherry picks its approved vises, it has no legitemate leg to stand on.
Oh, and I believe this extends to prostitution as well. It's his or her body, deciding to give it away after dinner and drinks is no different than for a credit card authorization. So have a drink, light a joint, and go buy some really good sex. Chew it over.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!
Democrat point of view - We're not sure drugs should be legal. We'll all for any anti social behavior (of which being a homeless drug adict of crack whore is one) and be feel you should be able to do anything with your body, however our uncontrollable need to make everyone unhappy and share our hatred of America puts us in conflict. If we legalize drugs that will make people happy, and being a Democrat (and liberal) is not about being happy, it's about being pissed all the time and screaming at people.
Republican point of view - The use of drugs is an abuse of your body, and is not 'moraly right', so this is bad. There is also some belief that it is forbidden by God, and that is even worse. We can't reconcile that God made all plants and animals for us to use, but whatever. Getting drunk and slapping around the wife and kids is okay, but toking up a doobie and passing out over a bowl of cheetos is bad.
Libertarian point of view - Amsterdam in the Netherlands has good a good idea. but they're way too conservative! Now if there were vending machines with crack, pot, acid and condoms in the elementary schools, you'd be more on track. Just a minute, I need to reload my bowl.
This is really a lot simpler than it looks. We're practicing a sort of moral relatvism. By picking and chosing what sort of 'sin' we allow, we're making fools of ourselves. Beer and tobaco, go for it. Smoke a joint, or do a little acid and you go to jail. There really is no difference. For a time alcohol was treated just like marijuana is now, with nearly identical results. Crime jumped around cities, there was rampant and uncontrollable smuggling, thousands went to jail and hundred died who were guilty of doing nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
All you have to do is look at the alarming stats. Two out of five prisoners in many states are in jail for drug related crimes, the majority of them for non-violent crimes (minor possession being the most common). I'm not just talking about legalizing something to take away the crime, I'm talking about leveling the moral playing field. As a society fairness needs to be considered. You cannot have one social drig legal, and another not. I'm not suggesting making herion and crack legal, or any other known dangrous drugs. But we have to be realistic here. Tobaco and alcohol both have KNOWN and SIGNIFICANT health risks. How can we justify alowing them, and not marijuana, ectsasy, and a few other relatively safe drugs. As a society you have a clear choice. Allow some of these drugs for those who chose to excecise their FREEDOM in this way, and not the ones that are outright dangerous. Or allow none at all. Arguments can be make that they all should be illegal, and I can see many of them. But can you see the results of trying this approach? Do we go back down the prohibition road? I can see this coming for tobacco. Good luck with that one boys. If you can't stop drugs, how in the hell do you expect to stop cigaretes?
I'm forced to categorize the war on drugs and our societal love affair with making the less sexy ones illegal as nothing more than an excercise in elitism. They are an attempt to swell the roles of the law breakers. How else can a government have power, if there aren't people to put in jail? Try to go through a day in your life without breaking a law, and good luck with that. Smoking a joint is one or a few people trying to get pleasure. It's often a social thing for some. Do people go insane and lose themselves in pot? Sure, and they do with booze too. When a society cherry picks its approved vises, it has no legitemate leg to stand on.
Oh, and I believe this extends to prostitution as well. It's his or her body, deciding to give it away after dinner and drinks is no different than for a credit card authorization. So have a drink, light a joint, and go buy some really good sex. Chew it over.
Sic Semper Tyrannis!
posted by Falconsword at 8/19/2006 11:29:00 PM
1 Comments:
If they legalized pot, they could tax it and make money instead of spending a bunch of money clogging up the legal system with penny ante bullshit.
The slippery slope comes at where *do* we draw the line? If we legalize pot (which I'm all for), do we legalize crack, meth, cocaine and heroin (which I'm not for). What criteria do we use? The addictiveness? Oops, there goes tobacco!
Of course, dealers and suppliers wouldn't want it legalized. There goes their control.
The same goes for prostitution. Legalize it. It's going to happen anyways, so instead of forcing it into the back alleys bring it in the open. That's the only way to make it safer (of course, it would put most of the pimps out of business... a side benefit).
But if certain elements can't tell you what not to do, then they don't wield as much power.
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