It is the
government's flipping job to regulate, not to make profit. By regulating the
markets, penalizing corporations for moving jobs overseas and for paying
below-the-poverty-line wages, and putting caps on insurance and pharmaceutical
rates, the government is doing its JOB. The government exists - presumptively
at least - to protect and serve its citizenry. Commerce is not a governmental
role. Why can't people see this? It isn't "wanting more government"
simply because you want the government to function as it was intended.
Man is incredibly greedy and
power-hungry. Both capitalism and communism feed into these two basest of
motivators. Regulating businesses by keeping them from screwing over their
consumers is just smart government. It's neither capitalism, communism, nor socialism - it's purely pragmatic.
In addition to the protection of
its citizenry, a government's function - as it was intended for the U.S.A. - is
to allow the people to self-govern, and to afford checks and balances when
insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and the like get out of control.
Neither is it the government's role to implement and regulate social norms.
Having laws against gay marriage, sodomy, marijuana, and dozens of other
practices in which people indulge that cause no harm to themselves or others
is, at best, criminal, and at worst, social oppression.
Marijuana, for instance, is a
civil rights issue, and should not be subject to federal or state law unless it
is being sold for profit, in which case business licenses, taxes, LLC's and all
that stuff should be considered. Point being, it has been proven beyond doubt
that marijuana is far safer, far less harmful, and does far less damage both
directly and indirectly than alcohol. Yet drunk drivers still kill hundreds
each day. When was the last time you heard about someone high on pot involved
in a fatal car crash? Yeah, I can't remember reading about that either ----
because it didn't happen. I won't say it has *never* happened, but come
on....You cannot become chemically dependent on marijuana. You cannot overdose
on marijuana. And if memory serves, a ONE ACRE marijuana crop can produce more
paper than 4.1 acres of forest. Hemp oil is used for a number of things, and
the plant itself has dozens, if not hundreds, of practical uses, including
making clothing fabric. All that by itself should be enough to end the argument,
but then it also has - by much acclaim from patients and doctors - almost
"miraculous" medical uses.
The fact that it is still illegal
is absolutely and utterly absurd . . . but it says two things to me very
clearly: 1. Only an ultra-conservative mind could still insist, despite
overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that marijuana is somehow dangerous
and/or harmful. 2. I have smoked a whole lot of marijuana in my day, and I can
say from experience that a few puffs and I'm in DEEP THOUGHT. Way deep. I'm
figuring out the mysteries of the Universe. And whether it's just
marijuana-fueled "Reefer Madness," or whether I truly am accessing
some profound truths, what I can say with confidence is that our government -
hell, most governments - do not want us thinking deeply. Indeed, they'd rather
we not think much at all beyond going to work and being a good little cog in
the Machine. They view thinkers as a threat. They have "think tanks,"
groups of people whose job is to think of ways to counter any kind of resistance,
particularly social resistance.
I don't smoke marijuana. I used
to, but I just don't anymore. The consequences (largely legal and professional)
outweigh the benefits at this stage in my life. But I would breathe a heavy
sigh of relief if my daughter came home high instead of drunk. I would prefer
neither, of course, but if I had to choose, I'd go green every time. Every.
Time.
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