The Politics of Blame
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aATEkLR.sHxs&refer=home
The above article caught my eye a few days ago. It seems Bill Clinton’s cronies have strong armed the soft drink companies into pulling their sugar sweetened products from high schools. Maybe they'd rather allow the Aspartame sweetened "diet" sodas- Aspartame being a compound oce listed by the Pentagon as a potential biochemical weapon! (http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/health/conspiracy/aspartamefraud2.html) This is an indication that they are moving away from a culture of personal responsibility. The message Americans are passing to their children is that “do whatever you like, the government will take care of you, and if you get fat from all that cheeseburgrs and no exercise, we'll find somebody you can sue”. This is a clear violation of the Spirit of America.
The founding fathers knew what they were talking about when they coined the term “Land of the Free” but like any other country that starts out as a freedom struggle, the public’s liberties are taken away systematically in the name of making life safe or in the name of giving them more liberty.
Take India for example. We got our freedom in 1947. By the 1960s things were so bad that one had to purchase a Radio Broadcast Receiver License to own a Radio receiver. One even had to get a license to own a bicycle! Over the years things got better and now we are reasonably free.
America has established itself as an extremely litigious country. You can get sued at the drop of a hat. One girl sued McDonalds because she ate their food and got fat… If you eat 3 cheeseburgers a day and spend all your time in front of a Playstation, you’re bound to end up obese! Then there is the maniac from the North Hollywood shoot out who bled to death after being shot after robbing a bank with an assault rifle. This guy’s mother tried to sue the police because she claimed that if he had received medical attention, he would have survived. Then there are the sorest losers of all- the tobacco smokers who fried their lungs smoking 3-4 packs a day and are now suing the tobacco companies for billions of Dollars.
Shit Happens. It happens to everybody, and happens all the time. When something bad happens, you have to pick yourself up and move on- not find someone else to blame. When your pain is because of a deliberate, malicious or negligent act, punishment is due, but if it is a result of one’s own choice or ignorance, one must accept full responsibility for the consequences.
Now if the government is telling you what to eat and drink, where is your freedom?
I propose something radical
Legalize EVERYTHING
Legalize all narcotics, prostitution, gambling and guns.
Legalizing narcotics will destroy the black market, gang violence and money laundering associated with prohibition. It means that within a year, all the junkies will be gone leaving only the recreational users and non users. DUI laws will be extended to these narcotics.
Legalizing prostitution will be a step towards a truly secular state because most ideas of monogamous relationships come from religious systems. Ironically, most scriptures describe the patriarchs of yore as consorting with many women (in Judaism and Christianity, described as Wives, Concubines or Harlots). Legalizing prostitution would put pressure on professionals to maintain health and hygiene through adequate screening, medical care and protection.
Guns should be legalized and Capital Punishment should be made mandatory for premeditated murder as it was in the old days. The possibility of guns being anywhere would dissuade criminals from casual crimes like burglary, and muggings (what if that sweet old grandma kept a Colt Anaconda in that quilted handbag?) Spree shootings would probably end in the time it takes someone to lock, load and shoot. (Three Cheers for Suzanna Hupp!!!)
As for gambling, millions of people gamble on the stock markets every day. And the majority of them lose money why not have freedom to gamble? Now don’t get me wrong, there are people who are serious investors, but these are as rare and as skilled as professional poker players- not some nitwit jerking off a slot machine.
***
When I discussed this article with a friend of mine some time ago, he asked me why I was so obsessed with American Politics. Well, there are a few societies worldwide that I admire. Apart from the Scandinavian countries and some of the Tax Havens, America is a society I admire a lot just because of its heritage and beginnings. Both of us kicked out the British, they did it with guns in 9 years and we did it with cotton towels in 90 years. They started out as a free society, had a civil war to remove the hypocrisy in their freedom, became a home to millions fleeing persecution and repression in Europe and Asia, and are now slipping towards a repressed population themselves.
The above article caught my eye a few days ago. It seems Bill Clinton’s cronies have strong armed the soft drink companies into pulling their sugar sweetened products from high schools. Maybe they'd rather allow the Aspartame sweetened "diet" sodas- Aspartame being a compound oce listed by the Pentagon as a potential biochemical weapon! (http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/health/conspiracy/aspartamefraud2.html) This is an indication that they are moving away from a culture of personal responsibility. The message Americans are passing to their children is that “do whatever you like, the government will take care of you, and if you get fat from all that cheeseburgrs and no exercise, we'll find somebody you can sue”. This is a clear violation of the Spirit of America.
The founding fathers knew what they were talking about when they coined the term “Land of the Free” but like any other country that starts out as a freedom struggle, the public’s liberties are taken away systematically in the name of making life safe or in the name of giving them more liberty.
Take India for example. We got our freedom in 1947. By the 1960s things were so bad that one had to purchase a Radio Broadcast Receiver License to own a Radio receiver. One even had to get a license to own a bicycle! Over the years things got better and now we are reasonably free.
America has established itself as an extremely litigious country. You can get sued at the drop of a hat. One girl sued McDonalds because she ate their food and got fat… If you eat 3 cheeseburgers a day and spend all your time in front of a Playstation, you’re bound to end up obese! Then there is the maniac from the North Hollywood shoot out who bled to death after being shot after robbing a bank with an assault rifle. This guy’s mother tried to sue the police because she claimed that if he had received medical attention, he would have survived. Then there are the sorest losers of all- the tobacco smokers who fried their lungs smoking 3-4 packs a day and are now suing the tobacco companies for billions of Dollars.
Shit Happens. It happens to everybody, and happens all the time. When something bad happens, you have to pick yourself up and move on- not find someone else to blame. When your pain is because of a deliberate, malicious or negligent act, punishment is due, but if it is a result of one’s own choice or ignorance, one must accept full responsibility for the consequences.
Now if the government is telling you what to eat and drink, where is your freedom?
I propose something radical
Legalize EVERYTHING
Legalize all narcotics, prostitution, gambling and guns.
Legalizing narcotics will destroy the black market, gang violence and money laundering associated with prohibition. It means that within a year, all the junkies will be gone leaving only the recreational users and non users. DUI laws will be extended to these narcotics.
Legalizing prostitution will be a step towards a truly secular state because most ideas of monogamous relationships come from religious systems. Ironically, most scriptures describe the patriarchs of yore as consorting with many women (in Judaism and Christianity, described as Wives, Concubines or Harlots). Legalizing prostitution would put pressure on professionals to maintain health and hygiene through adequate screening, medical care and protection.
Guns should be legalized and Capital Punishment should be made mandatory for premeditated murder as it was in the old days. The possibility of guns being anywhere would dissuade criminals from casual crimes like burglary, and muggings (what if that sweet old grandma kept a Colt Anaconda in that quilted handbag?) Spree shootings would probably end in the time it takes someone to lock, load and shoot. (Three Cheers for Suzanna Hupp!!!)
As for gambling, millions of people gamble on the stock markets every day. And the majority of them lose money why not have freedom to gamble? Now don’t get me wrong, there are people who are serious investors, but these are as rare and as skilled as professional poker players- not some nitwit jerking off a slot machine.
***
When I discussed this article with a friend of mine some time ago, he asked me why I was so obsessed with American Politics. Well, there are a few societies worldwide that I admire. Apart from the Scandinavian countries and some of the Tax Havens, America is a society I admire a lot just because of its heritage and beginnings. Both of us kicked out the British, they did it with guns in 9 years and we did it with cotton towels in 90 years. They started out as a free society, had a civil war to remove the hypocrisy in their freedom, became a home to millions fleeing persecution and repression in Europe and Asia, and are now slipping towards a repressed population themselves.
posted by Ajit Nathaniel at 6:24 AM
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