You Have The Right To Remain Silent 09/09/2009
Yesterday, I ran across the following video regarding the 5th amendment. I think it's interesting that this right was originally bestowed in order to ensure that INNOCENT people were not forced into conviction by their own words. Most of the time, we'd assume that anyone who doesn't speak with the police or testify in their own defense must be GUILTY. After all, if they have nothing to hide, why wouldn't they want talk about it? Why would an innocent person hide behind silence? The video does a much better job explaining why, but if you don't have time to sit through all forty-eight minutes, I'll provide a brief summary below.
I’ve been off the blog for a few days now because I took an extended Labor Day weekend retreat with my family. We went down to Walt Disney World Resort and played in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios for a few days. As a former theme park employee, I’ve seen the stress that’s caused by visiting an expensive place like Disney. The heat makes everyone grumpy, the prices makes everyone stressed out about “getting their money’s worth” out of the experience, and so the dream vacation often ends up with family quarrels and disagreements. We decided to do things differently. Now, I’m surely not a professional vacationer or anything, but I have to say that by following the “rules” below I really enjoyed our family retreat and I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I’d suggest these for any vacation, but particularly if you’re going to be heading to a theme park. Rule One: Disconnect Other than our phones, we decided that the best way to spend our time together would be disconnected from the internet, social networks, and other outside experiences. We left the computers at home and didn’t use our phones to access our e-mail, facebook, or twitter. As difficult as it might have been to break my internet addition- I gotta admit that I didn’t really miss it that much. I mean, I like spending time with my wife and my child. And with my attention focused on them and on the experiences at hand, there wasn’t really a lot of time to miss my “online presence.” Rule Two: Don’t Do Everything Theme Parks are huge. In a really part of the year like the beginning of November, it might be possible to do experience most of what’s offered in a Theme Park, but not on Labor Day Weekend- and most certainly not with a seventeen month old in tow. It’s just not realistic to expect to do everything and so we maximized each moment by enjoying all the things we were engaged with at that moment instead of rushing onward to the next thing. Rule Three: Do Things That Everyone Will Enjoy So, you agree not to do everything. Great. Then what DO you do with all the possibilities out there? I think it's best to focus on things that everyone will enjoy. For instance, my son is too young and too short to experience some the activities at Disney. He’s not going to be going on a rollercoaster for a few more years and some of the attractions are a little too advances for his attention span or abilities. So we stuck with things that were exciting for him. We spend 15 minutes watching him watch the dolphin swim past the viewing window. We rode the Mexico ride twice. The only two times we broke this “rule” was when we took him on the Energy Ride (boring) and later went to the Nine Dragons Restaurant in China. Boy did we regret it! He was a mess. He wanted to run around and we were making him sit on our laps on a loud, boring movie ride or sit up in a high chair while we were anxious about the fact that his high pitched shrills were bothering everyone else. The entire experience worked much better when we merely enjoyed the things that he enjoyed instead of trying to get him to enjoy the things we wanted to do. Rule Four: Take Naps, Drink Water, and Eat Regularly Who wants to be cranky on vacation? Yet, I’ve seen a lot of parents pushing their kids beyond naptime when they’re too young to be without naptime. I’ve seen people in the parks dehydrated because they forget that walking around in the hot sun is taxing. I’ve seen people forget to eat because of the excitement around them. All these things add up to disaster- a big blowout fight waiting to happen because everyone’s on edge because of exhaustion. We brought a big water bottle with us and drank from it often. We got a big breakfast every day and then tried to eat regularly, even though it meant buying overpriced theme park food. But most importantly, we napped. Because we stayed at one of the onsite hotels, we were within about 30-40 minutes of a bed at all times. The busses dropped us off and picked us up at each park and delivered us close to our room within a fairly reasonable time, anytime we needed. So, we went to the park for a few hours in the morning, went back to the hotel from about 12:30-3:00pm and came back and spent the afternoon and early evening at the park again before bed. We missed the really hot, crowded times and were fresh and ready to go in the evening when everyone else was dragging and beginning to get cranky with each other. Rule Five: Leave Time to Recoup After Vacation As good as vacation can be when it’s truly relaxing, it can be stressful to head back to work the day after returning from vacation. We spent two nights at the Disney hotels and two and a half days at the theme parks. Then we came home and spent two and a half days at home, hanging out and recouping. Vacation is only a success if it doesn’t cause more stress- and having a normal weekend to mow the lawn, hang out together, and do the typical stuff that needs to get done during time off is an important part of vacation. It meant that my mind was completely focused on my family and my surroundings instead of thinking about when I was going to get the ivy pulled down from the side of the house or get the ironing done. How Can the Same God be so Angry and Kind? 09/02/2009
Something that bothers a lot of Christians (and non-Christians) is the seeming contradiction of God’s character between the Old & New Testament. In the Old Testament, God often seems very angry with people- like a cruel old man seeking vengeance on anyone or anything that doesn’t fall in line with His ways. Then comes the New Testament and suddenly God seems to become a kind and loving father who patiently waits for everyone to come home into His arms. This apparent split personality of God has been one of the most difficult issues for anyone who studies the Bible. Some of my friends think that maybe God's been evolving and adapting, just like we do. But I wonder if it's merely that we're gowing up as a species and our understanding of who God is, is increasing and expanding? * * * Last night, I forcefully removed my son’s hand from the stove control and he screamed at me. His eyes filled up with tears and he had a little meltdown right there in the middle of the kitchen. Now, he’s usually the sweetest little boy in the world, but when he wants something that he’s unable to have, he gets furious. Sometimes he becomes so angry that he can’t function and we literally have to pick up and remove him from wherever he is and hold him close until he calms down. I’m not sure what's going on in that little brain of his when these meltdowns happen, but I wonder if his anger isn’t pointed directly at me and his mom. He still knows that we love him, but since we’re keeping him from his desires- we’re villains, thwarting him at every move. I can only imagine that it’s going to get worse as he gets older. My experience with my own parents was mixed, too. As a child, I had a terrible temper and I got in trouble for all sorts of things. My mom and dad were often viewed as the enemies, always dishing out punishment, making me eat food I didn’t like, forcing me to go to bed when I didn't want to, and giving me rules and restrictions that a lot of my friends didn’t have. It wasn’t until I graduated from High School and was out from under my parent’s constant supervision that we became friendly with each other. Gradually, we developed a different sort of relationship and I began to see how their “restrictions” and “punishment” were actually for my own good. Due to their influence in my life, I had a little more discipline over my own actions and was able to make better choices. I see now that it wasn’t always vengeance or cruelty that drove them to put rules and restrictions in place. It was more often kindness and love. It was merely my own immaturity that made me view them as villians. It was my adolescent and teenage brain that hadn’t grown to the point where I could see the whole picture of what they were trying to accomplish. And I bet my son is going to have the same feelings about me as he grows up. In the middle of the kitchen floor, while Ethan was still crying, it suddenly made sense why God seems to be so mean, angry and jealous in some places and so kind, loving and compassionate it others. It’s because the story of humanity is much like the story of a little boy who's growing up. At some points, God gave rules and then gave grace. At different times, He disciplined and befriended. God is fathering us and just like is for all sons and daughters, His methods don’t always make sense in the moment. There are times when He seems like the villain rather than the protector. There are times when He seems to needlessly keep us from our desires. But as we mature in our ability to know Him and understand this world we live in, we’re able to see more clearly that the whole picture is love- even those rough patches when everthing seems to be out of sync with how we’d expect a loving God to act. A friend of mine asked me the other day how it is that I can rationalize taking the New Homebuyer Tax Credit when I don’t believe in Federal subsidies, bailouts, and most welfare programs. Good question! He could have also asked me why it is that I took unemployment checks from the State of Washington if I don’t believe in government subsidies, bailouts, and most welfare programs. And he could have also asked why I cashed the stimulus check in the summer of 2008 if I don’t believe in government subsidies, bailouts, and most welfare programs. Here's the deal: I definitely filed for unemployment and I am definitely taking the New Homebuyer Tax Credit and I definitely cashed the stimulus check. All three are true and all three seem to be directly counterintuitive to this blog’s ideals on liberty and limited government. So the question becomes this: Am I a hypocrite for taking government money when I’m so adamantly against government spending programs? In the cases mentioned above, I’m going to say no. To prove this, I’m going to suggest that we tackle each of these apparent discrepancies in chronological order: First, the Stimulus Check, then the Unemployment Checks, and finally the New Homebuyer Tax Credit. The Stimulus Check: Back in the summer of 2008, we got a check in the mail from the Federal Government asking us to “Stimulate the Economy” by spending a few hundred dollars. Most Americans got one. I didn’t believe then that we’d be able to spend our way out of debt anymore than I believe it now, but I went ahead and cashed it anyhow. Why? Because this check proved to me that the government doesn't know what they're doing with the money we give them. Programs like these are rediculous. They tell us that if we just continue spending enough, eventually, everything is going to work out. President Bush told us after 911 that the Terrorists would WIN if we stopped spending our money and going on vacation. What? If one of my friends told me that their way out of debt would be to continue maxing out their credit cards until someone came along and offered them a job that would take care of the amazing stuff they just purchased- I'd laugh them off. And I'd definitely not feed their lunacy by giving them more money to waste. So, I decided that since I apparently know how to manage money better than the government- I'd keep the check and use it for something better than a "spend your way out of debt" campaign. Unemployment Checks: When I was laid off at the end of 2008, I filed for Unemployment Checks. And I received my unemployment checks for a few months until I got a new job here in Florida. They weren’t really enough to live on- so I’m really grateful for our savings account and my in-laws who were kind enough to help us out a little bit- but I still filed for unemployment and made it my “job” to search for a job (and I was pretty good at it, too). Why, if I don’t believe in Federal Welfare Programs, did I take Unemployment- doesn’t that violate my principles? There are really three reasons why I did it: First off, unemployment is usually the realm of the State government rather than the Federal government. While I don’t believe that government welfare programs are usually the most effective programs to ensure the welfare of the people, I’m actually OK with them on the local and state levels unless they violate the local or State constitutions. They usually don’t. What I am opposed to are Federal Welfare programs. This isn’t because Welfare programs are “evil” or anything. It’s merely because on the Federal level they are unconstitutional. No matter how helpful a program might be, we cannot continue to fund something that isn’t allowed within our US Constitution. Check this site for some interesting facts about how Welfare is in Direct Defiance of our Constitution. Anyhow, although I don’t believe that Federal Welfare Programs are the most effective means to bring about social justice and ease poverty- if our nation truly wants them, let’s vote to amend the Constitution rather than continuing to ignore it. Amendments aren’t easy to pass, but it’s better than allowing other things to slip by that undermine our freedom. So, to summarize- the first point is that welfare programs that are done on the State level aren’t unconstitutional and are OK, even if there are better ways to provide for people. Secondly, I paid into unemployment and so did my employer. We were taxed on it. Every week, we both had our own income taken out in order to fund the unemployed of our State. So after paying into it, I believe that it’s OK to take out of it, too. The same goes for Social Security- I don’t think it’s going to be around when I retire, and I think it was a bad program to begin with, but I’m not opposed to anyone taking Social Security checks- especially after paying into the program for their entire life. I hesitate to call it an entitlement because I hope that it’s gone one day… but for the time being, if it’s given to you- take it. Third, I couldn’t allow my principles to starve my wife and child. If I had been on my own, an idealist without anyone relying on me, I might have been more inclined to refuse help and go get a minimum wage job or live off of savings until I landed another position. But now that I have two other people depending on me (three other people by Thanksgiving) I couldn’t reasonably refuse unemployment on principle. My principle of taking care of those entrusted to me trumps any personal need to thwart the government. New Homebuyer Tax Credit: Tax Credits, we must understand, are different than welfare programs, stimulus programs, and bailouts, but since the definition is a very narrow one, I’ll need to explain it a bit more so that you’ll understand why it’s not hypocritical to take a tax credit- even when I’m against government spending programs. Stimulus programs, bailouts, and welfare programs all mean that the government is giving me something. I take money from the government. Tax Credits, on the other hand, mean that I owe less to the government in the first place. It may seem like a very arbitrary difference, but it’s very important to get this if we’re to understand property rights and such. Let me clear it up: I believe that I own 100% of my paycheck even though I am obligated to pay taxes. So every year, I pay the full amount of my taxes because I believe that we should obey the laws of the country that we live in. Those taxes are given to the government and they use them for whatever is in the Federal Budget that year (including a lot of things that I agree with and a lot that I don’t). If the government says, I owe $8,000 LESS this year because I just purchased a home, that doesn’t mean that they are GIVING me $8,000. That means that out of the taxes that I owe from the paycheck that I own, I am obligated to pay $8,000 less than normal. That’s my money that I no longer have to pay rather than a gift from the Federal Government. Do you see the difference? *Warning* Somewhat Crude Bathroom Conversation Follows Some things you should know prior to reading this post:
 a generic restroom layout Right off the bat, we’ll scratch stall number 4 off the list. It’s directly next to the urinals which means that anyone entering the restroom to use the urinals will be staring directly at your feet whilst relieving themselves.  Stall 4 is not an option So, we’re left with Stalls 1, 2, and 3. It may be hard to tell from this rendering, but Stall 1 happens to be a little bit larger than Stalls 2 and 3 since it is made to accommodate wheelchairs. Since it’s furthest from the urinals and also the largest stall, this option could potentially be used for some privacy- especially considering that once it’s taken, no one will probably take Stall 2 (see guideline #3 above regarding the “side-by-side” disclaimer). This means that worst case scenario, you’ll be in Stall 1 and someone else walking in might take Stall 3 (since Stall 4 is still out of the question). But that still means another person in the stall section. If you’re particularly conscientious, then this might not be the best scenario. So, for now we’ll leave Stall 1 as a potential.  Stall 1 might work? Picking Stall 3 would be a similar strategy as Stall one- hoping to thwart other users by implementing the side-by-side rule and forcing anyone else to Stall 1. But since Stall 3 is closer to the urinals and the door (and since it’s a regular sized stall versus the wheelchair accessible stall), I’d say that it’s not as good a choice as Stall 1. We’ll cross it off for now in favor of Stall 1.  Stall 3 is a weaker choice than Stall 1 This leaves us with Stall 2. It’s a bit closer to the urinals and the door, and it’s regular size makes it initially a little less appealing than Stall 1, but I think this is probably the best choice. Here’s my reasoning… Stall 4 is out of the question. No one wants to use the stall next to the urinals. And since we’ve already stated the side-by-side rule, most users wouldn’t want to use Stall 1 or Stall 3, either. Thus, picking Stall 2 gives the user the utmost privacy since he’s effectively cleared out the rest of the stalls and created his own little privacy space. He may still have to deal with urinal users and anyone who just HAS TO GO RIGHT NOW, but typically, the choice to use Stall 2 is the most effective one in creating the space you need to go about your business without anyone too close by.  Stall 2 is the best choice Yes, this is absolutely the silliest post I’ve ever written. But I had to get it out of my system. Thank you for 'bathroom humoring' me today. -NK  Jeff wrote a better summary of my post yesterday than I could- check out his blog for other good thoughts in a similar vein as my own: “What a great observation you imply here: Alien films are really a litmus test for how we answer three questions: A) What kind of universe do we live in (i.e. Is it basically hostile, basically kind, or basically indifferent)? B) How should we react and interact with the universe? C) What if our answer to A) is not in synch with our answer to B)?” * * * Day Three: The Man of Steel and The American Way Does anyone else find it ironic that primary defender of “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” is from beyond the stars? Sure, he looks like us, and as Clark Kent he can hide among us as a mousey reporter, but the reality is- Superman is not from ‘round here. He’s an outsider for a distant planet. He’s an alien. He’s Kal-el. And yet, he’s tasked with defending the American Way? Isn’t that odd? Well, let’s think about The American Way for a bit and see if there’s a way to reconcile this. The American Way and the American Dream are traditionally used interchangeably. To some degree, they both mean that no matter who you are or where you’re from, you’ve got a chance to make a difference. You’ve got the same chance as everyone else, to become what you want through your own work, by your own means- no matter who you are or where you’re from. With this definition in mind, it could be argued that Superman is literally the actualization of the American Way. As an alien, he knows better than anyone what it means to be an outsider, making his way in a world that’s unfamiliar territory. Sure, he’s able to use his innate abilities to become the greatest hero and defender of all time, but that doesn’t subvert the fact that he’s not human. Interestingly enough, it’s probably the fact that he’s not “one of us” that makes it so meaningful. Had he been the kid down the street- a true all American Boy- it wouldn’t be a story that resonates so strongly with us. After all, consider that Superman was created in a country of immigrants. Even last year (2008) over a million people were naturalized as U.S. Citizens. In fact, some studies show that immigration is the only thing that is keeping our country’s population from shrinking now that the average U.S. family has decreased to 1.93 children. Immigration is the foundation of our country and the backbone on which we’ve thrived. The one thing that most of us have in common is that our family trees are rooted on some other continent. We’re all from somewhere else. Which could be a reason why we don’t even think about Superman as an alien until we’re forced to. He seems like a regular guy who happens to be super powered rather than some humanoid life form from another planet. Sure, some of it is due to the fact that he looks just like us, talks just like us, and has adoptive parents from Kansas. But it’s more than that. Perhaps he is just like us. After all, we’re all aliens in some respect.  Day Two: Fear and Loathing in South Africa On Monday, we explored some initial thoughts about why humans feel the need to create something other than us. It could be due to our own need for significance, or perhaps because we need to know whether or not our decisions matter, or possibly it stems from mere loneliness, but no matter what reasoning stands behind it- we all ask that question: “are we alone, or is there someone else out there?” Alien films, of course are an exploration of this issue and others. Of course, the answer to what “someone” else is like is up for debate, too. The aliens in ET: The Extraterrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind look and act a whole lot different than the ones in Alien, Independence Day, or the recent District 9. Of course there are the Predator films which feature aliens who hunt humans for sport. And there’s War of the Worlds and the rest of the alien invader movies that presents grim hostiles from Mars who operate huge tripods and are bent on destroying human life to make room for their own kind. And then of course, there are films like ET where the alien is a sort of cute little brown guy who hangs out with kids. Something that really stuck out to me about District 9 is that the film is really about apartheid and the monstrosity of humanity’s actions against those we don’t understand. On a lesser level, ET and Flight of the Navigator echo the same meme. They’re both about the fact that man has a need to dissect what we discover in order to control it and understand it. But no matter what the film is, almost all Alien Films center on fear. Aliens represent something unknown and foreign. They represent something to be afraid of because they’re different, more powerful, problematic, violent, or such a mystery that we feel like we need to shoot first and ask questions later. But isn’t this pretty much what we do anytime we’re in a new situation or around people that seem different or strange to us. I don’t mean to suggest that we always kill other people or dissect them when they seem different to us- but isn’t there something curious about racism and prejudice? Both of these are prime examples of how we tend to treat other people like something alien. Something different. Something Other. Even the more subtle approaches like writing off another nationality because of a language barrier or mannerisms that don’t line up with social norms are a form of what I’m talking about here. When humans are confronted with something different than what we’re used to, we automatically assume the worst and look for ways to make ourselves more comfortable. This often means isolating ourselves from those who are different than us or deconstructing and “figuring out” their actions so that we can cut them down to size and make ourselves more powerful. Alien films are a way for us to key in on some of these issues that we have with other human beings. And if you haven’t taken the time to check out District 9 yet- it’s a perfect film to begin thinking through our actions and how they relate to other people. Check out A True Review for more info.  After watching District 9 last week, I was struck by the allegorical nature of aliens in pop culture. After this realization, I thought of all the “alien” films I’ve seen over the past few decades and began to wonder if each of these movies were actually existential explorations of human issues that need philosophical or theological resolution. Thus, I decided to take a week to look at limited selections of concepts and ideas that aliens can represent in film and literature. What follows is a collection of those ideas… * * * Day One: Is There Anybody Out There? Even before the telescope recast our planet as merely one of many specks of dust flying around in a vast universe of worlds, earth’s thinkers and religious leaders have speculated that there may be life on other planets. But since the moment when geocentricity was dislodged and a more accurate picture of the universe took its place, theories regarding life on other planets have been increasingly common in science, philosophy, religion, and pop culture. So this week, I specifically want to look at some of these pop culture references to see if there are any philosophical ideas being expressed though the use of extraterrestrial life forms. One of the earliest stories to include extraterrestrials is a 10th century Japanese Folk Tale called “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.” In it, a girl from the moon brings wealth to a family who shelters her. Through a series of misadventures, the Emperor of Japan falls in love with her, but is rejected over and over again. And when the girl’s people return for her from them moon and she leaves an immortality elixir behind, the Emperor refuses to drink it; for life without his love- the girl from the moon- would be worthless to him. Instead, he has his guards set the elixir on fire at the top of Mt. Fuji, thus giving Fuji a name (Fuji means immortality) and also providing an origin story for why Fuji, smokes from time to time. But whether we’re talking about a fairy tales, H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds or films like District 9, ET, and The Day The Earth Stood Still, each of these pop culture references asks the question “…is there anybody out there?” I think we want to know the answer for a couple of reasons: 1. Our Own Sense of Self Importance Are we the only ones like us? Given the fact that our universe is as big as it appears to be, it seems unlikely that we’d be the only planet where life abounds. But as we look into the heavens, there’s a tendency to feel both small and huge at the same time. We see the vast array of planets and star systems and we feel small in the wake of the enormous amounts of stuff out there. How could anything we do or anything we say amount to significance when faced with the reality of our size in comparison with the rest of creation. At the same time, however the fact that we seem to be the only planet and species that’s capable of interplanetary communication and travel beyond the confines of our own atmosphere leads us toward a sense of pride. It we are truly the top dogs in a universe of fungi and bacterium, then our problems are the most important and significant. Our seemingly insignificant debates about where to eat or what to do with our lives are the pivotal decisions of the universe if we are truly the only highly intelligent beings in the Universe. 2. Our Own Choices as a Species In The Day The Earth Stood Still, alien invaders come to earth as emissaries from the rest of the galaxy to assess whether or not humans should be allowed to interact with the rest of the universe or be quarantined off into our own solar system. The reason? Our planet cannot escape warring with each other and the universe wants to protect themselves from our violence and our inherent selfishness. If others exist- aliens in this case can be representational of other human beings- it follows that my actions cannot proceed purely from an individual perspective. When something or someone other than me is affected by my decisions, I must take this into consideration when I act. I cannot act as though I am the center of the universe when I am not, in fact, the center of the universe. The Church had a hard time letting go of their own geocentric paradigm during the decades surrounding the Inquisition. Many scientists paid the price through exile, excommunication, and even death. Aliens often represent the fact that something or someone “other” than us needs to be taken into consideration when we are making decisions. 3. Our Own Loneliness Probably the most obvious, but understated metaphor that aliens represent, is an answer to our own loneliness. Loneliness is one of the sentiments that all of us share- we live in the reality that we were made for relationship and we hurt deeply when we are cut off from other people. So taken on a macro-level, is it any wonder that humanity longs for companionship just as individuals do? Perhaps extraterrestrial creatures represent nothing more than an attempt to reach out to the world around us and know that we’re not alone. We want someone else there along with us so that we can fill the void of emptiness with something meaningful. Even when that something turns out to be terrible- every alien invasion film ever written- it could be argued these references are still an attempt to engage with something or someone beyond ourselves. Where Are You Wyoming? 08/21/2009
When I was in High School, a few of us made up a silly little theory about the non-existence of Wyoming. Since then, I've actually met a few people from Wyoming and seen license plates that reflect the State, so I guess I'm going to have to resort myself to the fact that they DO exist after all. However, someone from Wyoming must have passed the word around that I didn't believe in them- because they're apparently boycotting my website. Here's a picture of my Google Stats for the year. Every State here in the US is represented, except for Wyoming.  Help me out Wyoming, I want to believe in you! Please note: I am NOT an advocate of recreational drug use. I do not use illegal drugs and even if they were decriminalized I wouldn’t partake. This post is written with the intent of exposing some of the misconceptions that people have about Marijuana so that we can save some of our taxpayer money from being spent on rounding up pot smokers and putting them in jail. Once you’ve read what I’ve got here you’ll probably agree that there’s much better things that the government could do with our taxes. Also Note: I borrowed a lot of these myths (rewritten and documented by me, of course) from a site called DrugPolicy.org. You can read about a lot of other marijuana myths by clicking on their link. * * * Myth #1: Marijuana Overdoses Are Fatal This myth states that smoking too much marijuana will kill you. And as strange as it sounds, a lot of people actually believe it. They’ve heard the stories of drug overdoses and assume that any illegal substance will be fatal if it’s taken in excess. The Reality: There are actually no records in the extensive medical literature of the world describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality... Ever. Yes, you read this correctly, there aren’t any documented deaths that were attributed solely to consuming marijuana. Now, some marijuana users have consumed other drugs that have caused them to overdose. But there is absolutely no historical evidence that anyone has ever died from smoking too much marijuana. Alcohol, Caffeine and Tylenol are more dangerous than marijuana in this regard. Check out the chart in the following link for more stunning figures about deaths: Myth #2: Marijuana Causes Brain Damage If you grew up in the 80’s like I did, you probably saw the same drug awareness ad over and over again. The butter goes into the skillet. “This is your brain.” The egg drops over the butter and begins frying. “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” It was a clever little marketing campaign, really. It was quick and simple and it had a really clear message that stuck with you and a catch phrase that was hard to forget. Teachers and other educators lacked onto this phrase as well as the famous monkey experiment where these apes were given Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and lost brain activity. The combination effort lead us all to believe that marijuana was a brain cell killing machine that would make us idiots if we smoked it. The Reality: Other than the aforementioned monkey experiment, no other researcher has been able to substantiate any brain cell loss due to smoking marijuana or being exposed to THC. A recent film I watched called “The Union” documented that this famous monkey experiment was not actually what we think it was. The researchers placed gas masks of incredibly high concentrations of THC and low oxygen levels over each monkey’s mouth for an extended period of time. After analyzing their methods, most other scientists agree that the brain cell loss should be attributed to suffocation rather than THC. It was the depravation of oxygen in this experiment rather than the marijuana that caused brain damage. And in fact, in every other major research study that’s been done, marijuana usage has not effected brain cells. This is probably an example of the War on Drugs grabbing the test that proved their point rather than the actual statistics.
Well, one might say, even if marijuana doesn’t cause brain damage- smoking causes cancer, bronchitis, and emphysema. I don’t want anyone to get these diseases, first hand or through second hand smoke! So it should still be illegal. The Reality: It’s true that like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke does contain some carcinogens and irritants. All smoke does. A burning marshmallow, or toast, or eggs, or coffee, or anything else that’s on fire and turning into smoke will contain irritants of some sort of another. The real question is whether these irritants actually cause cancer. The truth is, marijuana hasn’t been linked with cancer, and the lack of obstructions within marijuana smoker’s lungs indicates that bronchitis and emphysema aren’t very likely either. In fact, a new research article that came out in July of this year has actually linked 10-20 years of continuous marijuana use with reduced instances of cancer. Hmmm?
This myth basically says that anyone who smokes pot is at risk for becoming crazed and violent when they are intoxicated. The Reality: Hopefully, most people don’t take this myth seriously. Marijuana, in fact, has a calming effect that’s more likely to make someone sleepy than angry. Not only that, but almost every single serious study done on marijuana usage has shown that it actually decreases aggression and violence. The real trick here is that since marijuana is illegal, anyone who uses marijuana is obviously someone who the ability to break or ignore the law. That said, there might possibly be a correlation between crime and marijuana usage since those with a propensity to break one area of the law may be more likely to break other areas of the law, too. But this doesn’t mean that marijuana causes crime. It means that people who break the law are potentially more likely to break or ignore other laws. This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it’s important to understand if we’re truly going to understand the consequences of marijuana use.
This myth states that even if all the other things about marijuana are false, smoking pot is a slippery slope that will eventually land users in bed with “hard drugs” like crack and heroine and therefore should remain illegal. The Reality: Yes, in some regards Marijuana is a gateway drug. But it is BECAUSE it is illegal that it’s a gateway drug. If the only way to get a hold of marijuana is on the black market, then of course people who purchase it will be more likely to purchase other illegal substances. After all, they’re engaging in illegal activities and interacting with drug dealers who also have cocaine, speed, PCP, XTC, and Heroine on them. Since marijuana isn’t addictive, it’s not really as profitable for the black market and so you’d better believe that the intention of every drug dealer is to get their clients hooked on something “harder” that will keep them coming back day after day. Thus, cocaine and heroine and PCP and all sorts of other illegal drugs are “offered” along with the bag of marijuana. But when you walk into a 7-Eleven to buy a case of beer, the guy behind the counter isn’t trying to get you to smoke crack, too. He may offer a bag of chips or a Slurpee, but he’s not selling hard drugs. And when you pick up a Percocet prescription at the pharmacy, the woman behind the counter isn’t there trying to peddle Codeine to you as well. You get what you came for and you leave. The truth is, most researchers, economists, and average human beings realize that marijuana would be a lot safer and less likely to lead to harder drugs if it were legalized and regulated like tobacco and alcohol.
According to my “accurate” sources over at Wikipedia, there have been over eight million cannabis arrests in the United States since 1993 including 872,721 in 2007 alone. 88% of these arrests were apparently for possession alone. That means that over 7 million people have been arrested in the United States for having a plant on their person or in their home that is non-fatal, causes no brain damage, bronchitis, or emphysema, reduces cancer, isn’t correlated with other crimes, and is only linked with harder drugs because of its illegal nature rather than an inherent trait within the substance. Now, I’m not sure how much it costs to make 7 million arrests, but I’m guessing it’s at least a thousand dollars per incident (taking into consideration the salaries of police officers, detention officers, and anyone else involved in processing). That means that at the very lease we’ve spent 7 billion dollars arresting marijuana users. And these 7 billion dollars, of course, are paid by taxpayers like you and me. Call me crazy, but considering the growing deficit problem we’ve got in our government and the programs that keep getting added, I think it’s time to rethink our Federal policy on marijuana restrictions. Why are we spending all this taxpayer money and putting our police force in danger over a plant that’s illegal because of misinformation? | Follow Me
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