At this point, let's restrict it to drugs, but it has ramifications for other 'victimless' crimes such as prostitution. To me any way, that is a much easier question to answer. As of now there are hundreds of thousands of women in slavery as prostitutes in this country. If prostitution were 'legal' I don not believe that situation would improve, but rather get much worse.
I think drugs are a more difficult problem. On the one hand, there is no doubt that there is a criminal enterprise that exists only because pot (leaving out hard drugs, which I dont even consider an option for legalization) is illegal. There are millions of people in the justice system because of pot. This seems unjust and counter-productive. On the other hand, places with liberal pot laws have become bastions for harder drugs and other undesirable behavior. Sin will beget more sin. Thoughts?
Well you've really narrowed it, G.S. Basically you've taken hard drugs out, so you're just leaving the pot and the occasional toad licking I suppose. Simply put, we can use our voices and vote for whatever we want, so of course if you believe in the Christian God as true your votes should meld with that naturally and hope that in a democracy more people think the way I do. And if not, use my voice to persuade others for the next vote That's how it works, eh?
ReplyDeleteVoting the morals of your religion is not about separation of church and state, since my STATE of mind IS the CHURCH (or God), and the government can't take that away from me. Everyone votes their worldview so why should mine be submerged more than the non-religious.
As for the mary jane, people have used to use the argument that alcohol does far more damage than the pot, so why not legalize it and get the criminal element out. But 2 things: smoking is now the new leper (which I voted to ban in restaurants in florida cause I hate smoke, letting my own distaste go before my desire to have small businesses not be regulated by the government as a health issue). anyway, yeah, smokers are treated as lepers, and pot has atleast 10 TIMES the Carcinogens, so if health is the issue, it should be ten times the leper and seen just as deadly as as alcohol. so why not legalize it since alcohol is? First of all, taken in moderation, alcohol, especially wine is GOOD for you. I've never seen one report that one cigarette is GOOD for you. It may relax you, but it's not HEALTHY. So pot has no GOOD health reason (except perhaps for medical purposes).
And even if it's as bad as alcohol, the old saying holds true: 2 wrongs don't make a right. I'm never one for ADDING to social problems just because equal or lesser social problems exist. Our job as Christians is to live as holy pure a life we can, that whole body is a temple thing, so, no, I'm not for legalizing the Grass.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. I increasingly believe that there is room in a liberty minded viewpoint for doing what Abraham Lincoln eloquently defined as appealing to the better angels of our nature. In other words, the state is dangerous and we should be liberty minded. But, we should also not be afraid to lead and be lead. God created government and put it in place to help us fight our total depravity. We need to utilize government to that purpose.
ReplyDeleteI think pot and alcohol are not as similar as some suggest. In addition to the reason that you offer (health differences), you can enjoy (as I often do) a few drinks without any appreciable mental impairment. No one smokes pot just to enjoy it with a good steak. ;) Also, there is biblical justification for alcohol use. There were certainly harder drugs in the middle east but we do not see their use in the Bible.
Pot use creates people who waste their times and their lives. We know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. While some can abuse alcohol, the vast majority of people who drink do so occasionally and not to excess. The data clearly do not demonstrate this for pot. If anything young people try it now and then and then quit ever touching it.
If we remove all legal barriers the opportunity cost of using pot goes way down. Suddenly we appeal to the demons of our nature. Almost more importantly, I believe there is a little talked about psychological phenomenon. People seek to justify their behavior through legitimization. However, I am going to blog about that aspect instead.
Wow, I am really torn on this. I just started watching Firefly and I'm looking at what the future could look like with folks fighting against a big, nasty world govt. Where to begin??
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel my viewpoints on this liberty thing have changed in the last year or so too. I would say I'm a classic liberal, federalist, libertarian, with anarchist leanings on many things. I like free markets and limited govt. How do I view this as a Christian is the real deal.
I've even heard Christians argue that smoking pot is OK with God, because God created it and it's natural. I could use that argument to ingest lots of things into my body that are dangerous or lead me to do unquestionable things. I feel that argument is not very good.
The way I view bans is sorta tricky. I love going into bars and restaurants where there is no smoking, but I am conflicted. It is a private business. I'm actually more prone to favor smoking bans in public in general, because that's something one can't control. I can decide to not go to the bar that has smoking, but I can't avoid second hand smoke walking down the street or in a public or govt. building, what do you think on that??
I am a smoker at times, so I feel torn on this. I probably won't anymore. I feel if folks want to smoke in their homes (that they own, not apts, since that can seep through walls and affect other folks) I don't have a problem with it.
I don't think WARS on anything ever work. But I feel we do need to uphold laws against what is legal and illegal. I don't really drink anymore either, but I don't think there is anything wrong with it. I'm not a Bible thumping Baptist. But it's about moderation.
I think drugs are bad period. They are a crutch. After just reading the book No Country For Old Men and seeing what's going down in Mexico and Colombia and other places, it should show you that something is just not right. Or watch The Wire. Drugs are scary. As Christians we need to stand up against this and vote accordingly. I don't want to rip families apart because of drugs and alcohol, but we do have a thing called THE LAW. As Christians we need to be there to help in rehabilitation and to show others that LIFE is soo much more fulfilling with CHRIST in their lives at the same time repenting from sin.
to have the right to do what they want, smoking or otherwise. I believe that strongly too. But I concluded that that right ends if it can hurt its patrons. You can't just allow bars to set fire to the place because they're a private business and can do what they want, for an extreme example. Smoking is the bare minimum of that dilemma for me though, and I may have been wrong in voting against smoking here in florida. But that's what happens when two different beliefs exist within yourself (privacy and hatred of smoke in my lungs). Something's gotta lose, and in that case, it was smoke in my face.
ReplyDeleteAs for taking it out of public places, outside, you might as well make smoking illegal, and outside you're not gunna get the direct smoke like an enclosed area, so I say nah That's the best thing about democracy, opinions. The day those are eradicated, watch out.
Yeah. I did not mean specifically to talk about tobacco bans. For that I believe that since it is a legitimate behavior (i.e. there are not clear social ills that extend as externalities from its use as there is w/ pot and drugs) businesses should choose. In NoVA there is no smoking ban but many bars and restaurants choose to be smoke free. If that is what the people want, businesses will respond.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely wholesale against full on tobacco bans in bars for that reason. I might be willing to entertain a rule that lets you allow smoking only under certain circumstances, but I dont think I would personally get behind a total ban such as you see in many cities these days. People who want to work in and relax in smoky bars should be free to do that. Just b/c I dont want to be there, I dont see large externalities extending from those choices for those people. Whereas, there are large externalities extending from mind altering drug use, like petty theft, bad driving etc.
BTW. Firefly is awesome, and I definitely agree w/ the viewpoint of the writers in that show much of the time.
I lived in DC and there was a smoke-ban. I live in Columbia, MO and there is a smoke ban. They are getting ready to ban smoking on the entire University of Missouri campus. I think health shall reign over all things, and I don't have a problem as much with the University since that is a public and state controlled university, it's not private. But I do feel that free-will shall also prevail in cases of certain bars and restaurants. What that should look like I don't know. I love going to see shows without smoke and I have noticed smoking has started to go down in response to this. But again, I'm torn about the state coming in and being too unreasonable at times. Maybe a balance of sorts. I know of bars that do exist in Columbia that have to have a special license (and in so doing can allow smoking in their bars). I believe only one or 2 of those exist.
ReplyDeleteI think its pretty easy. You achieve these things with a pigouvian tax. Basically you say the govt wont ban it but we will tax it heavily. I have no problem with the govt taxing smoking bars as long as they are allowed to exist. If people want to smoke in a bar, they will pay a $10 cover or whatever it takes to go sit there and smoke.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigouvian_tax