[Vision2020] Trinity Fest Concerns re City Council

[Chasuk]

On 6/24/06, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> Make alcohol a part of our children's lives?!?!?!?!?

My choice of words was apparently poor.  I should have known that, as
phrased,  they was too tempting for someone not to rip out of context.

I just didn't expect that someone to be you, Tom.  ;-)


> Why stop there, Chas?  Why not legalize marijuana, opium, cocaine, and
> heroin for our children "while we are still in charge"?  And then, once they
> reach the age of majority, the county sheriff's office, the local police,
> and the DEA will be in charge.

Understand that I drink infrequently, and that I indulge in other
drugs never. However, I am one of those long-haired advocates of the
legalization of drugs.  Using many of those controlled substances
should stay controlled; and in mos cases use them would is sheer
stupidity.  But I'm not particularly keen on legislating morality, or
in hand-holding the stupid.  And, yes, marijuana perhaps should be
something experienced first with parental guidance rather than with
one's peers, as shocking as that might sound.  Children shouldn't
raise children (nor should the state, but that's another discussion).
Parents should raise children, especially when we are talking about
influencing not merely their choice of country music or classical, but
in the use of things that they take into their bodies.  This includes
not just drugs, but too many cheeseburgers or sodas.

> While attending the weekly ceilidh in your home town in the UK, how many
> bobbies also attended?  No, I am not talking about a local "rent a bobbie"
> (something like Gabe Rench's "Odd Squad" of last year's Trin Fest).  I am
> talking about trained and skilled police officers.

None whatsoever, unless they were off-duty participants.  Believe it
or not, adults really can behave as adults, if they have been
socialized to do so.  These weren't raves, where excess is the point,
but public celebration and camaraderie, with alcohol as the lubricant
used in moderation by those who required a lubricant at all.

> Once we "make alcohol a part of our children's lives" and legalize
> marijuana, opium, cocaine, and heroin, maybe we can convert the Thompson
> property into Moscow's Port of Hope.  Trust me.  If we were to do as you
> suggest, 77 acres ought be just enough for Port of Hope by the time today's
> sixth graders enter high school.

I'm not fond of slippery slope arguments.

Alcohol becomes a part of the lives of most humans, to a greater or
lesser degree.  Some people are genetically disposed to abuse it, but
most can use it in moderation, and responsibly, if they have the
guidance, the education, and the good example when they are young.

Of course, we could always reintroduce prohibition.  I think we all
know how successful that was.
-- 
http://emmagoldman.wordpress.com/

"Aren't people absurd! They never use the freedoms they do have, but
demand those they don't have; they have freedom of thought, they
demand freedom of speech." -- Søren Kierkegaard