how to make the world a better place
the world has a lot of problems. most start from the same source. here are some ways to make it better:
1. legalize all drugs
everywhere in the world where drugs are illegal, terrorists and criminals gladly occupy the industry, turning it into something with zero oversight, no taxable revenue, grotesque acts of violence, and producers have little to no control over how much they are paid. look at the drug cartel wars in mexico. look at the opium production financing terrorist regimes in afghanistan. take away the demand for illegal drugs by legalizing them, and you take away power and revenue from criminals who don’t care about anything but their own fat pockets. the united states is among the top importers of illegal drugs. by importing drugs into the united states in the black market, we finance the terrorism that our armed service men and women are dying to protect us from every day. think about that. http://alcoholism.about.com/od/sa/a/drug_use.htm there’s an article with more information about drug use per country. by legalizing drugs in the united states, we address a whole slew of issues: the expensive, inefficient waste of us tax payer dollars known as “the drug war.” we end the racial profiling of minorities, especially black men in the us prison system who are arrested extremely disproportionately to other ethnicities for nonviolent drug crimes. i had the privilege of seeing jack cole of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) give a talk. http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Content&pid=26 this is a summary of what the talk consisted of. the information in that talk is amazing. please check out that link. the benefits of legalizing drugs FAR outway the potential risks. if drugs are legal, we can monitor and enforce their purity (purity levels have risen as price has gone down, which contributes to higher overdoses with opiates like heroin), we can tax their sale and earn revenue to build schools, hire more government employees (which would lower the unemployment rate), fix roads and bridges, etc. similar to the tax on alcohol and cigarettes, the drug taxes could finance more important things, like education. we could set a legal age for drug use. with drugs illegal, children are starting to do them earlier and earlier because of their availability of use. drug dealers do not care who buys their product, their intentions are only to make money. they will sell drugs to your 12-year old son. they do not give a shit. with drugs legalized and sold in proper settings, there is no way a 12-year old would get a hold of a bag of weed. our prisons would be less overcrowded as well due to the end of nonviolent drug arrests. this means people like paris hilton and lindsay lohan wouldn’t get out of their months-long sentences for serious crimes (DUIs, DWIs) in less than a week due to “overcrowding.” finally, you will empower the producer. producers of drugs will receive a fair payment for their work and drugs they cultivate on their land because criminals will not be able to steal it or rip them off. by taking something out of the black market, you will simply be able to regulate it. deaths due to drugs will not go up. first of all, there will be less reported cases of overdoses because the potency will simply not be high enough. also, people will not be afraid to go to the hospital if something happens because drugs would be legal and there would be no threat of arrest. these reasons and many more contribute to why i firmly believe that all drugs should be legal. now, you might think that i’m just a huge druggie, but i’m not. i don’t do any illegal drugs. i do not advocate drug use, but i do advocate legalizing something that a) people are going to do anyway, and b) the illegality of which causes immeasurable suffering.
2. legalize prostitution
everyone has sex. prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. the problems associated with prostitution, like rape, STDs, battery, sexual slavery, etc. are a result of them being illegal. legal brothels have weekly STD testing and monthly HIV testing, and security to boot. no legal prostitute operating in a legal brothel needs to fear for her life. by legalizing prostitution, you also eliminate the pimp. the pimp only exists to extort money for a woman’s work, and to keep her in submission. take away the pimp, and the woman is empowered and free to earn money the way she decides. it is her body, her choice. pornography is legal, why not prostitution? americans need to stop being puritan little bitches who pretend like sex is something ugly and something to be ashamed of. sex is wonderful. none of us would be here without sex. it’s the most natural thing in the world. men and women have the right to engage in whatever sexual practices they want as long as it is between consenting adults. prostitution is consensual sex. quit sticking your noses in other people’s bedrooms. it doesn’t affect you.
3. eliminate all discriminating laws
gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders; people of all religions; people of all skin colors; people from all countries have one undeniable thing in common: they are ALL people. yes, it is easy to look at someone and think, “wow that person is so different from me,” but we are not different. the same chemicals in everyone’s brain cause the same kinds of emotions. of course, the circumstances that elicit the emotion are different and unique to the individual, but the emotional experience is identical. http://www.face-and-emotion.com/dataface/emotion/emotion_intro.jsp is a great article to this idea. think about why crying evolved in humans. crying is a physical response to an emotional stimulus. crying evolved as a way of alerting another person that you are in distress. there IS a caring instinct in all people. crying would not have evolved if there was not. the pain you feel when your dog dies is the same pain i feel when i go through a breakup. the anger i feel when someone cuts me off while driving is the same anger you feel when someone tries to take credit for your work. the excitement i feel before going on stage to sing is the same excitement you feel when you’re at the top of a roller coaster, about to speed down the hill. no matter who you are, you have a story to tell. no matter who you are, you have a right to be happy. who are we to say who can be happy together and who cannot? gay marriage is but one issue in this enormous problem. that debate is almost boring in how ridiculous it is to not allow gays to marry. here is a list of all the different species of animal that display homosexual tendencies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_displaying_homosexual_behavior. i don’t even want to make this about gay marriage because it is about so much more. it’s about respecting each other, acknowledging each other as people. we’re all a part of the same collective experience. it’s incredible to think about. what makes you think you’re so special that you can have rights that others don’t have? that you can have fresh drinking water and children die of starvation and disease in africa every day? we need to come together as a human race. all of these divisions we create, all of these opinions we form about other people without ever once speaking to them in person… they need to die already. we are all a member of the human race. we all share this planet and its resources. the differences in us are a reflection of the evolution of our genes which is a reflection of GOD. things are the way they are because we were created that way, we have evolved that way, we have become that way. how can one way of being be better than another if they both exist after competing all this time? enough teen mothers want to give up their babies because they didn’t practice contraception. let gay couples raise those babies! they will be in a far more loving home than to be stuck in the foster care system until they turn 18, trust me. this is an idealistic goal, i do realize that. i’m just saying that all of the “otherness” is what creates problems. hate groups form very intense and strong bonds with each other. so do cults. so do religious fanatics. isn’t it ironic that in hating something, you are forming bonds of love within your own group? well i say extend the group to include all people. the less we exclude, the more productive we will be. the more SANE we will be.
4. stop using religion to justify action
no one, no where, at no time, will EVER fully agree with what you believe. we are individuals. as connected as we are in so many ways, our individual perception of the world is entirely our own. respect people’s choice to live the life they want to live. they may not believe in the god that you do, but does that stop them from being a good person? no! more bad shit in the world has been justified by religion than by any other factor. how can a creator condone destruction? murder? imprisonment? look at islam. shi’ites and sunnis hate each other because they disagree about lineage. LINEAGE! it’s the past, and they are killing each other over it. it is ridiculous. it is ridiculous to think that god wants you to kill other people. it is ridiculous to think that women are evil temptresses. it is ridiculous to not allow children to learn. it is ridiculous to think that god HATES anything or anyone! god is love. god is love. god is love. if there is a god, it is love.
all of this is boiled down into a very simple concept: love and respect one another. work together. protect each other. there are bad people in this world. take their power away.