CVII. Legalizing Marijuana

A couple of years ago the question about the legalization of marijuana was asked on the sister site that deal with politics that is now in hiatus.  California (who else) got the ball started with the process of legalizing it.  Back in November Colorado became the latest battleground.  And on the day that it became legal thousands of people flocked to the state to buy their share.  Of course they probably never thought about the fact that they had to smoke it there because you can not take illegal substances across the state line.  But they are pot heads so they probably were not able to think about that anyway.  This time the question is based more on the morality of the issue.  What do we do with marijuana?  Do we treat it like coffee and cigarettes?  Do we treat it like alcohol and medical drugs?  Or do we treat it like cocaine and heroine?  After all everything that has been listed here is still a drug and "has its purpose".  But where is the line drawn about it usage?  The answer to the poll is repeal the laws, create new ones that put a huge restriction on it.  Here are the actual results to the poll about the legalization of marijuana:

17 % said, It was about time, even for recreational use.

4% said, It was needed to stop drug lords/crime.

17% said, Medical use only.

21% said, It's no big deal. It's just like alcohol.

17% said, It needs to be monitored VERY strictly.

21% said, It needs to be repealed.

Some Christians think it should be legalized for the following reasons (none of which are valid nor rational):  it takes the money power out of the equation, we can't force our morality on others since we have free will, or there is nothing wrong with it.  Pathetic answers.  It won't take the money out of it since now they can get away with bringing a lot more into the country and will have a bigger market.  Plus they will just move on to harder drugs to sell and then what do we do with those drugs?  There is something wrong with it.  Anytime we put things into our body that alter who we are is wrong.  Medical reasons?  Fine, then put it in a pill and get a real prescription for it.  Some will argue that alcohol kills more brain cells that marijuana, but that is like saying could you please only cut two of my fingers off instead of three.  It still kills.  Some will say it is not that addictive.  The government says it is but some psychologist are on the fence:  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201012/is-marijuana-addictive.  Think about it.  If it is a drug that people feel the need to fight for then guess what?  If they took coffee off the market, people would fight for it.  If they took soft drinks of the market...hmmm, New York. 

So what about the third reason Christians would agree about it?  We shouldn't create laws that force people to listen to a moral issue?  There are laws against us all the time and they don't hurt anyone.  Is there a two-way street here?  But perhaps there is truth about creating a law against it.  If it illegal then people due to their disobedient nature will want to try it.  Restricting it won't reduce the usage of it.  Look what happened to alcohol.  Either way there are alcoholics.  Same with marijuana.  There will be people using it no matter what.  And that brings us to the main issue.

Actually the main issue isn't should we legalize it or not.  The issue is why are people feeling the need to have it.  And the answer to that is because our society is immoral.  We feel the need to live in fantasy worlds.  We can't take reality so we escape it.  We live in a world that only cares about feeling good instead of doing good.  If we look at those who support the legalization we get a better picture at how dumb it is to do so:  http://www.pinterest.com/theinsider/celebs-who-support-marijuana-legalization/.  Most on the list are unrespectable people living questionable lives.  Don't judge?  It is not a matter of judging.  It is a matter of knowing right from wrong.

But here is the main problem with legalization.  If no one is held accountable then people can use it recreationally at their leisure.  Doctors, pilots, teachers, bus drivers, presidents (wait, never mind) will be coming to work more high.  Without any boundaries the children of today are bot going to know the difference between helping your body or abusing your body.  And then we will wonder why so many kids want to commit suicide and feel they have no purpose in life.  Not all marijuana users will use cocaine and heroin.  But all heroin and cocaine users started with marijuana.  Fact.  We are now getting to a point where it is becoming more and more accepted as part of our culture.  Nothing seems to bother us anymore.  As a teacher there are signs everyday of the culture inside the schools that show lack of motivation for anything in life.  And marijuana is usually a part of those kinds of students' lives.  Nice future we have built for them.

Until the culture changes, until we can turn people's thoughts around, until we can get people to understand that there are consequences for all of our actions, until we get society to believe in hope again, marijuana should remain illegal, or at least come with many restrictions.  And Christians, do what is right.

XC. Under Whose Authority?

Parents and teachers are the two most influential in a child's life.  Yet parents aren't being parents and doing what they are supposed to be doing and teachers are limited in what they can do and are being more limited year by year.

For years we create objects for children's brain to be stimulated so we add noise to toys.  We add color.  We add movement.  And what do we get?  A child with ADD placed him on medicine and wonder what is wrong with the child.  We sit kids down in front of a television and don't monitor what is on and they watch things full of violence.  We buy them video games about shooting people and quick gratification.  They get shot and they get lives and rebooted.  We let them play for hours without intervening.  What do we get?  Mass shootings and vain acts of infamy.  We tell them to think for themselves and to stand up for themselves and what do we get?  Sass mouths and disobedience.  We make excuses and say they are going to do things anyway so we tell them to wear a condom and what do we get?  STDs and unwanted pregnancies.

 

Now that the homes have failed what have we done?  Let the schools deal with it.   Teachers are now told that they have to use a method called differentiation in class.  This method calls for each student to basically have their own plan for leaning.  The teacher has to have different lessons for each individual student to meet their learning needs.  Although this seems fair and serves the child, in the end it defeats the purpose.  No job allows each individual to work in their own way.  They have to learn the basics.  Now if the student wants extra work to learn other ways about a subject, then it should be up to that student to put effort and time into it on their own accord.  Teachers are not allowed to reprimand students anymore.  Cellphones are rapid.  Clothing is tattered and disrespectful for the classroom and the individual.  Administrations are weak and cater to loud mouth parents whose child disrupts the whole system.  Teachers are blamed for the results.  But instead of fixing any problem we tell the teachers that we need to allow the students to make decisions.

 

But we see their decisions; they are the same unmotivated, selfish, focused on sex, Facebook hampered, systematically pampered, and confused decisions they made in their home life. Their decisions cause them to be overly dramatic. They react based on emotions. They end up in situations that hurt their futures, full of regret. They do not know how to think ahead. They do not know what rational thinking is about.

 

For years states, teacher's unions, school boards, and even national governments have been running schools and what the mode of teaching is at any given time. The pendulum swings all the time but the axis it swings on it tilted...left.

 

It is time someone stood up and said STOP!  It is time parents become parents and take back authority from their child.  It is time teachers were given back their authority in the classroom.  Children should be not in control of this world.  Children do not know how to think for themselves.  They need guidance.  They need structure.  They need discipline.  Most of all everything mentioned here has to have a higher authority to set the standard.  Yup...God.

LXIX. From Penn State to the State Pen

Yes.  Joe Paterno was a great coach.  He may be a great man.  He may be a humanitarian, an animal rights advocate, a priest, a boy scout, _________(insert any term of endearment).  But, none of these excuse what has happened under his watch.  Even if he did not know anything about it, he picked his coaches.  He knew the people that he chose and what they were like.  It goes under his reputation and his staff and team are reflections of who he is.  Paterno got fired.  Sandusky is being indicted.  McQueary is on administrative leave.  But this isn't the worst part of the story.  The worst part of this whole story is the way Penn State's fans are.  Shame on them.  Why?  Because they are more worried about their football team and Joe Paterno than what had happened to these young people.  Where is the outrage against what these children have gone through?  Both teams gathered together on the field and knelt.  People wore blue in the stands as a symbol of anti-child molestation.  But after the way these fans are you can't seem to think that perhaps the prayer on the field was for Joe and the blue was for Penn State.

http://news.yahoo.com/somber-mood-penn-state-week-turmoil-000612939.html.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view/20111110tv_van_tipped_as_rally_for_joe_paterno_gets_violent/

But this is the way our generation is today.  It shows how our moral system has changed.  We will support people like this and forget the victim.  Forgiving them is one thing, but supporting the wrong person and letting things continue the way they are is another.  Bottom line is Paterno needed to resign.  At Ohio State Jim Tressel was let go and all he did was know about how his players were selling their own items.  Which is worse?

LXII. Whip it. Whip it good.

How do you teach someone to do the right thing?  The best way is to BE the example not just set and example, which usually only involves the now overused term "teaching moments".  Instead of just telling someone how to do things in the right (moral) way, one should ALWAYS be DOING the right thing to show someone how to do the right thing.  But, alas, no one in perfect so other methods are needed to intervene, and that would include discipline.

Discipline needs to start at an early age.  From the day that you become a parent, or guardian, is the day that you need to live your example.  Too many times parents want to be friends with their children, or they just want their children to like them.  They want to be the cool parent that their child will want to hang out with and will want to tell their own friends about how cool they are.  Of course that is part of the times we live in.  People are more worried about their reputation than they are about character.  Then when the child starts to make their own decisions and they make one the parent really doesn't agree with, and the parent tries to intervene but the child rebels, the parent wonders what happened and why they can't control the child anymore.  Well, here is a secret.  If this is the way they raised their child, they never had control to begin with.  If you have not established that you are the parent by the time they are 10 years old, forget it, you lost this battle.  One of the greatest things you can do with a child is to give them some kind of morality system to live by.  Make friends of your own age.  Be the parent.

Discipline allows a young child to understand that we all have consequences in our lives.  Everything we do has either a positive and/or negative impact on our own lives and on the lives that surround us, either directly or indirectly.  Sometimes things we do cause pain in other's lives.  If we understand what pain is then we will be less likely to inflict it upon others.  This is not to say we automatically cause pain in a child's life to teach them.  But they need to understand that we do not get away with everything pain-free.  Wrong actions deserve punishment.

Proverbs 22:6 says, Train a child in the way he should go,and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Discipline comes in many forms.  Some only need a stern lecture (not many by the way) and they will not doing anything else.  Some need limitations set in their life.  Some need physical intervention.  Some need all three.  Spanking a child is a legitimate way of disciplining a child.

Here are the results of the last poll:  Should parents spank their children?

• (35%)  Said Yes. It is very effective and there is nothing wrong with it.  However, keep in mind that spanking is not beating a child.  The butt is soft for a reason.  It is meant to absorb a spanking.  The face was not.  The face was meant to absorb affection.  The hand was meant to absorb the pain of helping others.  The feet were meant to absorb the pain of going the extra mile.  But the butt was meant to absorb the pain of being disciplined, not beaten!
• (30%)  Said yes. But only as a last resort.  Perhaps this is the best answer.  Other methods should be used first.  This allows the child to understand that violence should never be the first step to any situation.  It allows the child to know that you are a person that can reason through a situation.  This is not to be confused with "reasoning with a child" to allow them to get their way.  It also allows the child to understand that some things can be carried out too far.
• (10%)  Said no. But the threat should be there.  What good is a threat if you are not willing to use it.  Wishy-washy.  This sends the wrong signal.
• (15%)  Said no. It may send too many mixed signals about violence.  Only if you hit on areas besides the butt.  Only if you do it out of anger.  Only if you do it excessively.  Only if you do it in a way that isn't needed.
• (10%)  Said no. It is abusive.  Then you get what you deserve.  If your child disobeys you and you can't do a thing about it, tough luck.  If they are perfect in this way, be thankful.
• (0%)  Said other.  Again, what does this mean?

LXI. Behind the Eyes

Challenge

Find someone you know that will be willing to do the following:  Stare into their eyes without saying a word for two minutes.  Try not to let any thought go through your mind, at least anything judgemental.  It's okay to blink but every time you are done blinking remain focused on the person you are staring at.  Then stop for a little bit and this time stare at them for two minutes and think of the person they are.  Think of what they like to do.  Think of what makes them who they are.  Do not focus on their attractiveness or any bodily features. Then stop for a while.  This time stare at them and only have thoughts about things you want to tell them.  Think of things that you want to share with them about your feelings, desires, and dreams.

Here is the problem.  You won't be able to get through the first two minutes and that is a shame.  Why?  Your mind will start to wonder because two minutes will become a very long time just to stare at someone.  Or you may start to laugh because you think the exercise is silly.  Or you just can't do it because it makes you nervous.  You will never get to the second set of minutes.  You will never get to ask yourself if you know the person in front of you.  Or if you actually get to this point you will come to find out you don't know that much about them anyway.  Why?  Because we are too self-involved.  We only care about what we see and feel, not what other's see and feel.

The point is we don't know how to look into each other's eyes and understand who the person is we are looking at.  We don't know how to take the time to get to know them because we are too focused on ourselves.  We have become so cold in the way we treat each other it's all we know how to do.  All the texting, twittering, and facebooking we do waters down our relationships.  We take short cuts to say I love you.  We post private things thinking public expression will solve or enhance these issues.  We hide behind the ICON or avatar thinking there are no consequences by what we say if we don't say them directly to a real person.  We have lost the art of empathy.  And then when we try and have a relationship with something or someone we are not ready for the reality of life.  When someone is hurting we don't see the scars life has given them because we can't look at them.

Plumb, Cut:

• I'm not a stranger.  No, I am yours.
• With crippled anger and tears that still drip sore
• I may seem crazy or painfully shy and these scars wouldn't be so hidden if you would just look me in the eye

Too many of those around us who are close to us are hurting and we are too busy being electronically gratified to notice.  Take the time to look behind the eyes.

LVIII. Stinkin Thinkin

Dr. Phil McGraw, made famous by appearing on Oprah, has a saying he uses when he hears someone not making rational decisions. The decisions people make may allow them to get what they want but in the end it has negative results. He calls it "stinkin thinkin". The following is pretty much a real conversation. It may not be verbatim but the idea is still easy to grasp onto. There is a little bit of stinkin thinkin, but the lesson comes from what you may not hear at first.

Teen: I am going to get my ears gauged.

Adult: Why?

Teen: So I can stand out and tell the world it is wrong to judge me.

Adult: (sarcastically) So you want to do this to get back at the world?

Teen: Yeah, in a way.

Adult: Why do you want to get back at the world?

Teen: I want to send a message to some people. People judge and it's all wrong to do so I want to do this to show they are wrong. I would like to get some tattoos too.

Adult: What did the world do to you that you want to get back at it?

Teen: Well, I just want to show that all people are different and that no one should judge anybody.

Adult: But if you do this on purpose, you force people into judging you. When you walk in for a job interview looking like that (with gauges) you already forced someone into making a judgement.

Teen: But that is what I am trying to show them.

Adult: You realize it is mutilation.

Teen: No it's not. It's just a way of showing who you are.

Adult: So when does piercing become mutilation, instead of decoration? What about piercing the tongue?

Teen: No. If they want to do it, it's okay.

Adult: What about splitting the tongue like a snake, like that one guy?

Teen: That's weird though.

Adult: So would you ever date a girl who split her tongue?

Teen: No I don't want to go that far.

Adult: Isn't that judging?

Stinkin thinkin. He couldn't hear or see that he was splitting hairs and doing the same thing that he didn't want people to do to him. Why would he do that to himself to begin with? Why would a child feel the need to "stand out" the way he wants to?

After hearing this conversation you learn it is not about decoration like just the piercing of an ear that has no feeling. You learn it is not about judging as the teen tries to say it is. You learn it is not about being your own individual. If you really listened to the teen you would hear what the teen is really trying to say. He said it right up front but tried to mask it as something else. It is about getting back at the world. Not the whole world, but his part of it. And the question then rises, what is so strange about his world that makes him want to mutilate himself? One place being pierced may be adornment. Two places may be individuality. But when you get multiple piercings then it deals with your mind set. The same with tattoos. Nothing is wrong with getting something that says who you are. If you get a tiger on your chest, okay. Mother on your arm. A rose on your derriere. Big deal. But when it starts to become an addiction, or when it starts to become an outlet for life, or to "show the world" something, then it is more about a problem in your mind or heart rather than art.

The problem is many people use these things as an outlet for pain in their life. They realize the pain they have inside will not heal with the life they have to live. So they hurt themselves on the outside because they know those will heal. And if they don't then they can always look at the scar and know that at least it's not on the inside. One of these actions leads to another. And many teens start to do other things besides piercing or inking. They turn to cutting. That is stinkin thinkin.

Take a look at the following video. Don't just watch. Listen. http://vodpod.com/watch/1527797-cut-by-plumb

We hear but we do not listen to those who hurt. We see but do not act. We watch but we do not learn. We are afraid to do anything because of the times we live in for fear of judging.

XXXIX. I'm Sorry.

I usually do not personalize my postings. But I need to tonight. Thinking of you...
 

There is a tragedy that is happening in our country; our own genocide that we keep failing to address. Our children are growing up in a way they were never meant to grow up. Why? One word.

 

 

Men.

 

 

The species that God told to be in charge of the family, to make sure that the bond of love stays strong in his household and to watch over each one in his care so that the devil will not snatch them. We have failed. We have walked away from our responsibility. We have ran when blame came our way. We call children hurtful names. We put them down. We abuse them. We neglect them. What have we done? We need to fall on our knees and ask forgiveness from God and them.

 

 

Young men do not have the examples of what they are supposed to be in their lives and they become over-bearing monsters to the women they marry and to the children they conceive. They follow in the footsteps of the jerks who left them alone and become hateful maniacs willing to hurt those around them because they don't know how to love anyone.

 

 

Young women do not have the love from a man who should be there to protect them from men who are not worthy of their daughters. They "fall in love" with the first man who pays them a compliment because they don't know what love from a man really is. They become lonely people who think no one cares about them and feel like they have no where to turn.

 

 

Good job men. What you have done is turn these beautiful innocent little children into waifs. What you have done is turn these pure little lambs into beasts who want to destroy themselves. They drink to forget what has happened. They get high to live in a fantasy away from what has been done to them. They cut themselves thinking the pain they cause themselves is easier to take than the pain that we have caused them because they trusted us and we have let them down. The physical pain will heal but the emotional scars will not. When the cutting isn't enough they feel like they have to do something else. And then the genocide begins...

 

 

Young men, young ladies, it's not much but I am sorry. I am sorry for what has happened to you. I am sorry that someone you loved has abandoned you to the life you have. I am sorry that the man who is supposed to be there as daddy is not there for you or has done things to you that a daddy should not have done.

 

 

(Personal) For those who know what I am talking about, I love you. I wish I could help your daddy be a daddy. I can't take their place but you can always use me if they can not be around. But even more importantly, always remember there is a Father in Heaven who will always love you and wants to be your daddy (Abba) as well. I pray for you.


NOTE: This thought has been referenced in on an athiests blog.  They tried to rip it apart but all they did was misunderstand what the real story is.  They tried to make me sound like a sexist.  When the real message here is that men are jerks!  Men do too many things that are wrong and against women.  If men did the right thing then most actions against women would stop.  Would someone tell me what is wrong with that idea?