Yes, it’s habit to focus on the large situations in our lives, I can attest to that basic fact of life as I’m sure you can too. But, as I sit here, I can name countless little things that were said or done throughout my life that created a major impact in how I think and react. Whether it affected how I trust someone to how much respect I give a person… Whether I feel that someone is a liar or a true friend… The situations are countless, but the vast majority of what I remember would not be considered earth shattering events.

Maybe it’s because I discount the major instances for the most part and focus on the little things that slip through. To me, the telltale signs of who people are come through in the simplest conversation or reaction in ordinary situations. These signs can display more about a person than weeks, months, or even years of conversation or friendship. Sometimes, who people truly are comes out when they are the most “comfortable.”

How about you? Do you let the real you slip out in while you’re not looking? Does your true personality squeeze out through the armor you have slipped into? As I’ve said before, most of us are walking around with different “faces” on and for the most part, we don’t let many people see the real us. We like to control that aspect of our life even more than our bank account it seems.

But, when that instance comes along and the real you comes out, what kind of trickle down effects do you have on the other people in your life? For me, the trickle down instances I have experienced in my life generally center on people who failed to conceal their “wicked” person. Why do you think that is? Well, basic common sense to me says that people who aren’t really the nice person they seem to be, allow these “slips” to happen because they are in fact, concealing who they really are. People who aren’t worried about hiding their true self, are legitimate people and usually don’t fall into these types of traps… they are who they are all the time.

Yes, everything we do carries an impact on others. The trickle down effects of our actions and words can help and even damage others. However, if we focus upon being our true selves in all situations, the effects will be nearly all positive whether mistakes were made or not. Genuine people are expected to make mistakes… non-genuine people who make mistakes can lose trust, respect, and their dignity amongst their friends, family, and co-workers.

Going back to my statement that I have tended to focus upon the small things from people and sad to say, most of the time, these small nuances are vastly negative. I have found that most people fear others knowing who they really are. For whatever reason, they just cannot be themselves. But, given enough time, we all figure out who they really are even as they fight tooth and nail to hide it. The little things will always come out no matter how good at hiding…

Go about your day as you really are. Don’t worry about the little things that slip through because there won’t be anything to slip. Your trickle down effects will be positive because genuine people make genuine relationships and friends. These bonds are not broken by mistakes done in an honest manner. But mistakes made by liars concealing who they really are deserve their just punishment when they do display their true nature. Be who you are, it’s the right thing to do… it’s the respectful thing to do… it’s the trustworthy thing to do… your trickle down effects will be positive in the eyes of those you interact with.

But, I also believe that many, if not the majority of people in our world, simply do not want to change. They fear it… they like the way they are… they want everyone else to change to meet their needs and not the other way around. Change is a two way street in my opinion. More often than not, everyone needs to change and meet somewhere in the middle rather than having a certain group of people change to meet the group on the other side of the valley.

I see people in various states of change… unwanted change forced upon them, disguised change for some to see while others see the unchanged individual, and those willingly engaging in change for the betterment of their own life as well as others. Who do you think has the easiest time going about their daily life from the above categories?

Of course those willing to change are going to have a much happier existence simply because they have chosen to change. Those who are forced to change, do so without buying into the outcome that change is good for them… otherwise they would have elected to change willingly. And those who are choosing to pull the deceptive veils of change over their persona are only hurting themselves worse over time. To put it simply, they are nothing more than liars… to themselves, and to those around them.

To me, these people are also untrustworthy. At least the people unwilling to change have the guts to publicly stand their ground and fight for what they believe to be in their own personal best interests. Those who disguise their true intentions are weasels, snakes, and deserve to be treated as such. They deserve no respect for their actions. Change… or don’t… no need to fake it.

How do you live your life when facing change? Are you one of those who accept change and move forward? Are you one who will always buck change while going down in flames protecting what you know? Or, are you one of those who will fake change to get by and keep your precious status quo in check?

Do you know any of these fake changers in your life? How do they make you feel? I have known a few of these people throughout my life and they irritate and aggravate me… for the simple reason that they are nothing more than fakers! I can’t stand fake people… fake attitudes… fake in general. Be real or get out of my life.

Fake people, acting like they have changed, are also manipulators. It makes sense doesn’t it? If they had bought into the idea of change, they wouldn’t be disguising their actions. If they are disguising their true self, they must be doing it for a reason. That reason is that it serves their selfish reasons for a presumed payoff. They are trying to manipulate the people and situation around them to serve their own needs.

Fakers… manipulators… liars… weasels… the list could go on. People who disguise their true actions with veils of deception cannot be trusted. Choose to accept change or fight it… don’t be one of those who fake it.

My wife has an issue with my viewpoint. She says I am rationalizing the ugly term of pessimism into an “acceptable” way of living. I am not a pessimist. I do not always assume the worst of everything but I do pay attention to the negatives in nearly all situations and account for their impact. However, along with that, I account for the positives and I make a decision based upon that knowledge. This knowledge, coupled with the experience of the real word, lead me to my realistic point of view.

The problem that comes as a result of living this way is that in reality, most things do have a negative result. Should we expect anything different? Is that a pessimistic or realistic statement? What do you think? To me, that is a realistic statement because of the state our world is currently in. Our spiritual relationships have withered, our morality has withdrawn into the darkness, and our ethical standards have decreased to the point where almost everything is acceptable in our world.

Given these REAL circumstances, the realistic point of view in nearly all situations will result in a true answer… give or take a miracle of humanity here and there. There are times when I hope against hope and am eternally optimistic, but those times are few and far between. Generally, I lay it out the way our world will most likely answer our situations. That is my realistic point of view. It is not pessimism. Pessimism to me is wallowing in self pity and sinking into a world of destructive hopelessness.

I have hope and I enjoy being optimistic. But I am only overly optimistic when the times are right and the situation calls for it. I will admit that having this point of view can lead you into pessimism because while we need to focus on the negatives that can happen, we must not dwell on their existence and occurrence at all times. Being a realist can very easily lead to a person becoming a pessimist.

I don’t think that will happen to me for a couple of reasons. I have a wonderful family life that fills my world with hope every day. I have a spiritual relationship that provides me hope and optimism. I am smart enough to know that good happens just as bad happens. But, people without those attributes in their lives can easily become pessimists with highly negative personalities.

Am I rationalizing or am I just being a realist? What’s your point of view? Are you an eternal optimist or an eternal pessimist? You may ask how I can be a realist and not an eternal optimist if I have a spiritual relationship with God. My answer to that is God did not make this world a perfect place. There are lots of things wrong in our world and we cannot simply be unaware of these bad things in our lives. We can hope that the bad won’t happen, but we must realize that it will happen… a lot.

I wish I could be an eternal optimist, but living a life like that in our world today can only lead to a lifetime of hurt feelings and damaged or crushed dreams. We can hope, but we must hope when hope is warranted. We can hope in all circumstances, but we must realize that sometimes, we are hoping against hope and the likely outcome isn’t going to be what we want. Miracles do happen, so hope is not ever to be given up, but just don’t expect a miracle in every situation, it won’t happen. That’s just being realistic.

After settling down and coming back to reality, I began to mentally wonder about how this newfound “affordability” is going to impact our goods and services… products whose prices were raised to account for massive transportation and manufacturing costs incurred by the exponential energy price increases. Will I see the price of food go down? Will I see the price of our trash service go down which has increased by almost 25% because of “fuel surcharges?” Will I see a direct benefit by the drop in energy costs due to the drop in oil other than cheaper prices at the pump?

Highly unlikely is my guess. I’ve already seen price estimates coming from the food sector which said that food prices will remain “sticky” even with lower oil prices. What that means is that you and I will continue to pay for the increased costs associated with previously high “energy” costs incurred by manufacturing and production. Why is that so? Shouldn’t we see a drop in costs because the sellers can effectively remove all of the recently added surcharges due to oil price increases?

If the American people altered their buying habits, yes, the prices would drop. However, everything is relative. When prices first started increasing, the public was shocked and appalled at paying more money for the many staples of life. But, there was nothing we could do about it. We either pay the price or we do without. So, as a whole, we chose to pay the price. After months of “paying the price,” we have now formed a habit and a baseline of perception as to the “new” cost of products in our lives. Food costs x amount of dollars now to survive and that’s just the way it is.

It doesn’t matter that in that x amount, there is an overcharge now for the energy costs of our recent past. That x amount is not going to change according to the industry reports. Will the American public be just as shocked and appalled at not receiving the new “discounts?” Or, will we continue paying the overly inflated prices and deal with it because we are so “happy” that our fuel costs have declined so greatly? The safe bet is that we will continue to pay the higher prices because we have been trained to do so. The price of gas, for whatever reason, hordes all of the attention when things are out of control and when they return to normal, it still hordes the attention and people have a sense of relief both in their wallet and psychologically.

What we should be clamoring for is a retreat in all goods and services which have increased because of the oil prices. We should not be satisfied with gas alone dropping and thus soothing our overextended budgets temporarily. We should alter our buying habits and buy products that allow us to reclaim our “stolen” wealth and force the manufacturers who are unwilling to lower their prices on their own accord, to lower them by our purchasing habits.

That is the way it “should” be but I know it’s not the way it’s “going” to be. We will pay more or do without while enjoying our “affordable” gasoline. However, I look at it this way (with a bit of conspiracy theory thrown in). The reasons why we will not see a price decrease in most goods and services is because the manufacturers “know” that energy will be going back up in price… either due to OPEC cutting production or by the returning growth and boom of currently sluggish global economies. They “know” that oil will be heading back up the price charts and they are banking on that being soon.

Rather than “lose” some of the profits in the middle while oil has declined in value, they are going to keep their prices frozen and make a little extra and when the oil prices do return to exorbitant amounts, they will raise their “cheap” prices and make even more in the future. If you don’t believe it, you’ll believe it when oil returns to $100+ per barrel and the manufacturers once again start tacking on “energy surcharges” to compensate them for their newly increased costs of operation.

Obama has the eyes of the world upon him. He is not only our rock star… he is the world’s rock star. In our time of globalization, Obama is sitting on top of the world’s political pulpit. After a projected record amount of voters have utilized their one true democratic tool, Obama has been elected the leader of the free world. After many campaign promises have been made in exchange for votes, our eyes as a nation are going to be squarely placed upon him. Obama will face the ultimate political scrutiny… not only from the American public, but from the world as a whole.

I watched Obama give his gracious acceptance speech last night. He is a very good speaker and he can motivate with his words and demeanor when he’s speaking. However, his actions are now required. No longer is campaign and political rhetoric going to be enough. There must be substance to his speeches and there must be evidence of his political ability. At this point in time, we have yet to see either because of his lack of political service.

What exactly Obama will accomplish over the next four years remains to be seen. Many are awaiting some sort of Holy Grail to materialize and make our nation resemble a fairytale of the grandest proportions. Others are nervously and anxiously awaiting what true agenda Obama may be harboring. Obama, based upon his past votes and publicly stated positions, is still regarded as a “Hard Core Liberal.” His political viewpoints and Democratic Party affiliation still direct his decision making that will undoubtedly create great public and political divide. Promises of bi-partisanship is one thing, actually compromising on some of the most important divides is another.

We have seen how political divides have separated this country. For many, their newfound ecstasy achieved as a result of their chosen affiliation’s rise to power will come under distress as the reality of the political process diminishes the many campaign road promises. Yes, Obama will be in office with a dominant position regarding both the House and the Senate. However, he does not enjoy a veto-proof House and Senate. That means that any law or political action he champions MUST be made with inherent compromises in place.

Obama is our next President and he deserves the respect this office places upon him. However, the respect of the person himself is on the line. If Obama can truly earn the respect of his opposition as a true political leader charged with bringing our country forward together, then I will gladly stand in line and support Obama. Until that day comes, I am a skeptical citizen waiting to see what the true agenda of the Democratic Party’s most liberal President has in store for our country.

The President is sworn to uphold the Constitution upon inauguration. Our nation was born upon the ideology of freedom. Free markets are at the core of our capitalistic economy. As our country moves forward, I implore you to watch with keen eyes how your rights are being protected, how your country’s foundation is being protected, and how your country’s moral and ethical values are being protected. Many of Obama’s campaign promises directly affect each one of these core issues. If our American citizens are so easily fleeced of our rights for monetary gains, we will no longer have a Constitution, a free market, or a free country. Be thankful that we have democracy and we must make sure that we preserve it. We must not allow the rock star persona draw a veil of deception over our nation’s eyes which will allow its complete rape and destruction from within.

I’ll admit that I am guilty of being uncompromising on certain topics (abortion being one of them), but for the vast majority of other issues, I am willing to compromise when given an agreeable solution that actually helps people. I like to think that each and every one of us falls into this mold. There are some topics that are just divisive and always will be because of their roots in religious belief or moral and ethical makeup. But, it seems as our country progresses forward, we are making every single debate or difference a core division amongst ourselves.

I like the color blue and you may not. Does that mean that I must berate you and demean your intelligence level because, of course, all rational people must love the color blue? We can replace the argument with any topic and it fits the mold of how we are living. If other people do not agree with our idea, then of course they must be 100% wrong and must be corrected by submission or defeat at all costs.

Our current political process has succumbed to this theory of ideological submission and defeat. The other party is wrong, completely wrong, and they must be deported for their traitorous rhetoric. At least that is how they would like us to believe as voters. No way could the opposing party have anything substantial to bring to the table. Why? Because they are the enemy! Somehow over the years, our parties have been categorized as follows: Republicans – gun toting war nuts in search of oil so they can make their friends as wealthy as kings (oh, they are also homophobes intent on forcing women to give up their “right” of abortion). Democrats – tree hugging, drug legalizing, baby murdering, robin hoods intent on stealing your wealth and taking your guns away (and oh yeah, they are all communists).

With such trumped up sensationalistic ideology running rampant about both parties, isn’t it hard to believe and vote for either one? The media does nothing but try and hammer home the stereotypes listed above. There is no need to listen to politicians anymore. All you have to do is check which party they are affiliated with and that’s all you need to know right? That’s what they are hoping for. They do not want an informed society with an understanding of the middle ground. Middle ground is not a case for winning. It’s a case for compromise.

As the goal of winning at all costs being the decisive factor, all we will ever get is the kind of society splitting arguments we see pushing each of us farther apart. It’s in all of our lives, not just in politics. We must recapture our ability to debate without total annihilation of the “enemy” being the necessary outcome. Assuming that we all want our country to benefit from our existence, our goal should be what makes the country stronger, or what makes our society healthier, or what makes us come together more as a nation. Destroying the enemy as being the key to victory will only make those concepts unattainable.

We can easily see where divisive living brings us: deteriorating economy, foreign policy hatred, high divorce rates, broken families, and parentless homes. Our financial markets and political process are not the only victims of our country’s focus upon winning ideological debates. Our homes and families have also become victims. In the end, we are all paying the price because we have failed to realize that living together in harmony means more than being victorious in a spiteful debate over ideas. Winning is not everything, in life or in sports.

The only thing I know about fashion is that you’re not supposed to wear white after Labor Day. Not exactly sure what exact piece of clothing they are talking about, so I just assume white is out for everything, hats, shirts, pants, and shoes. Better to be safe than sorry right? I wouldn’t want to be seen as someone lacking fashion sense now would I? Trends are necessary though, otherwise, we would all be wearing the same clothes we were 10 years ago, or even 20, or 30. We could even be wearing the clothes our grandparents were wearing if we didn’t change our tastes and trends. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t enjoy wearing what they wore, not to mention if we all were wearing garments from the 1970’s…

Who establishes the trends which impacts our clothes wearing behavior? Segments of society have a great deal of power creating trends. These segments are catered to by the fashion industry and as they grow, different trends are injected into the mainstream. Bikers, country clubbers, musical genres (rap, rock, country, etc), moms, young adults, and the list could continue forever. Remember the “grunge” period of fashion in the 1990’s? That trend came to us via the music scene of alternative rock. Today, we have the “baggy” fashion which has been brought to us by the rap community.

Baggy used to be exclusive to wearing oversized clothing. However, now baggy has gone to the point where clothes are literally hanging off of people. Pants are left hanging on for dear life as underwear is prominently exposed. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Oversized pants barely stay up which forces the individual into constantly “tugging” on them to keep them from turning into ankle weights. Oh, and the pants aren’t shorter so the remains of the pants are always under the person’s feet so they are actually walking on the lower portion turning them into frayed ends of shaggy looking hand-me-downs.

I’m one for feeling comfortable, but the baggy trend has gone a bit too far in my opinion. Since when was it considered “trendy” to show your behind to the public on purpose and walk around on your pants? There was a fantastic invention from years gone by that alleviated such issues. If memory serves, I believe it’s called a belt.

Saturday Night Live featured a performer who chooses this trend as his fashion statement. Corporate executives for NBC were “worried” about his appearance mostly due to his musical content, but also his attire. Lorne Michaels, producer of SNL, went on record and said, “I’m not saying you should wear yours that way, but clearly it’s our job to set trends.” My question, is it really the job of SNL, or television for that matter, to set fashion trends? If so, then no wonder why our younger generations are wearing such attire and believing it to be “trendy.”

Trends used to involve making clothes better looking, more comfortable, or better suited for a particular event. Today, fashion sense is more about making statements. Do we need our society following trends “set” by mainstream media? If someone really believes wearing pants below the butt while walking on the pants legs makes them look good or fashionable, I would like to see their IQ score and compare it to that of a lemming.

Allowing mainstream media to set our trends is one avenue they effectively utilize in an effort to “control” the general public. A large portion of that control involves money. Fashion trends change from year to year, or even month to month, meaning wardrobes must change. Media receives the majority of their revenue from advertising and as they “set” trends, purchasing behavior is thus influenced creating a “need” for advertisers to showcase products. The lemmings are in line to follow the lead of someone trying to control their money. Since “fashion” these days is about making statements rather than making clothes look good and comfortable, money is at the root of these so-called trends. Do some homework, how many of these “trend setter” acts have their own clothing lines?

What are some of the most important aspects of living you value and place the priceless tag upon? Life itself, children, love, happiness, achieving your dreams, respect of your parents… the list could go on forever because we all determine our own lists of unsellable “things.” There are those among us, and it seems to be an ever growing segment, that kneel to the almighty power of wealth and proceed to trade or sell their perceived priceless items. Wealth is easily attainable for people willing to sell their most important objects of self because the market is scarce of this product. It’s a simple supply and demand issue. Low, or rare, supply will equal higher prices given any perceived demand.

Recently, one 22 year old female has taken this knowledge of the market and is offering her virginity to the highest bidder. She is planning on “auctioning” off her “product” in an effort to create a financially secure start for her life. Student loans, among other things, are piling up on her and she is in hopes that her “wares” will generate up to a million dollar windfall. This isn’t a novel idea, but it is one that generates a lot of media attention. In the end, she is nothing more than a prostitute. Prostitution is an age-old “profession” even though it is against most ideas of moral and ethical correctness.

Integrity, once revered, now shows up regularly on the auction block. Whether it comes in the form of this young lady, or in the form of steroid use, or lawyers twisting facts to free a criminal, or even the average “white lie” being told amongst co-workers, integrity is for sale. Everyone wonders why it’s so hard to trust anyone, or be honest with people without fear of retribution, it’s because there is a price tag on even the most basic core principles that make us who we are.

We are always looking for the true motives around us rather than take people’s actions at face value. We have to. It’s just the current state of the world. Integrity is readily sold and rarely protected. In a free market, why not sell a valuable asset when given the chance? Doing the right thing “costs” money…

What surprises me about the state of our world is that the mere mention of this young woman auctioning off her virginity hasn’t resulted in an old fashioned media lynching. Instead, we are given sensationalistic reporting with some even trying to support her decision. Is this something that we want to see reoccur? What will we see next time, an 18 year old selling herself? There of course are many worse incarnations of this action if we continue to support its “legal correctness.”

Our society must return back to one where integrity means something. We must truly believe there are priceless “things” which cannot be sold or valued. Until that happens, we will see auctions such as this litter our news and more than likely, at an increasing rate. Money comes and goes, but who you are stays with you forever.

Citation: http://www.foxnews.com/

Free societies have always been the bastion of hope to strive for. Traits of the free society promises freedom of speech, religion, press, and many other core ideas of a democratic ideology. These tenets create a standard of living people in “less free” countries dream of experiencing. However, the traits of free society also bring various responsibilities for the citizens within. Primarily, citizens must respect the rights of each individual within the society and not force upon them their individual ideology or thought process. There are also traps within a free society which must be avoided. Ideas and policy that replace freedom with so-called “what’s best for the people” laws are a replacement of freedom with a slow burning fuse of socialism.

Our forefathers had great ideas regarding freedom because they chose to leave tyranny behind and their sole focus was upon creating a truly free society, one that is run by the people, for the people. There have been great leaders in our history who have stood up for what is right for free individuals. Slavery has been abolished, labor laws enacted, unions were created to protect worker rights, and women were given their rightful standing amongst society. Even racism has been tackled by our society and continues to be fought against. The American Dream is more attainable today as compared to any previous generation for those willing to work and earn it.

Free society sounds great and is for all intents and purposes. Free markets allow businesses to prosper and generate wealth for many individuals. However, even with all of the positives of our free society, we appear to be evolving into a segregated society of individualistic segments vigorously opposing any potential naysayers to their belief or stance on any issue. All we hear about on television is left wing or right wing, liberal or conservative, women or men, married versus non married. All are very real segments within society and all very adamant about their beliefs. Historically, the segments were rational and open to public debate about issues and ideas and some even – gasp – changed their mind after giving the opposition the platform to express their opinion.

Today, the openness to allow opposition to express their points of view has become very limited. Rather than listen, we choose to immediately go on the defensive, interrupt the process and being attacking our opposition as if they are lunatics with no right to speak or have an opinion. Our leaders have even shown these traits. Our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates display these traits. It’s not just the individual following the attack mentality. It is everyone from our elected officials to the young adults sitting through class in junior high school.

We are all becoming at fault. We have taken our freedom to a place where individual segments are right and everyone else is 100% wrong and therefore they must be “forced” to agree with the side with more power, money, or political clout. Is there anything free about that? Our society must return to a more forgiving one which holds our tongue and decision making process until we can honestly listen to what others have to say. When was the last time you actually listened to the argument from someone you disagreed with? Did you tune them out only focusing upon your rebuttal? Did you cut them off mid-sentence so you could refute their facts and beliefs? Did you choose to belittle them and thus make their argument seem less important?

We have all done this from time to time, but rather than being an infrequent attack, it has become the expected reaction amongst any debate featuring divided beliefs or viewpoints. This simple expectation is part of the problem. Expected does not make it right. Our free society guarantees us the right to speak our mind without fear of retribution. But, given our society of individuals who can only attack those in opposition, are we really going to have true freedom as our country moves forward? I try and catch myself when falling into the simple attack mindset and focus upon hearing out those around me with views different than mine. I hope you undertake the challenge and do so yourself. Until we can dissolve the attack mentality that has fostered amongst our society, we will continually be fighting amongst ourselves and create further chasms of division which we may never climb out from.

Listen to people and truly hear their point of view. Most of the time, we all want the same thing. It’s how we get there where we differ. If we can agree that our goals are the same, working on the path to get there should be something that brings us together, not drive us apart. Temper the attack mentality and our society will be in a much better place, politically, socially, and emotionally.

Society has been migrating to this particular theory of “freedom thinking” for quite a while. Is it the right direction? I don’t think so. However, I do not believe in government limiting our rights as individuals, but I do believe in moral, ethical, and common law. Our rights do not include the ability to do whatever we feel like at any time of our life. We are a part of free society, not an anarchist one. Life without law and rules results in a life of anarchy and destruction.

I recently ran across a poll on ESPN’s website asking a simple question about marijuana use by athletes. The question arose because 2 prospective NBA rookies were caught with the drug and were promptly suspended and punished. The poll went as follows: “How much does it bother you if athletes use marijuana?” Answers were: “A Lot – A Little – Not At All.” I voted “A Lot.” No, the athletes do not mean anything to me and they are not family or friends, but the act of illegal marijuana use by athletes or anyone for that matter, bothers me a lot. Why? Because it’s illegal and it’s a crime.

Are crimes shades of gray? I’m sorry Mr. Officer. My crime is a lighter shade of gray so you should let me go. I mean, the old lady didn’t need her purse and it looked like it was too heavy for her to carry anyway… plus, I’m a free individual and I can do whatever I want. As for the marijuana user, they say they aren’t hurting anyone by using this particular illegal drug. Are they living in a bubble? Are they secluded from society? Are they on their own planet full of snacks and hemp? If you are part of society and you are purchasing and using an illegal drug, at some point, you are harming someone other than yourself. Everything you do impacts others as part of society. You may not readily see the effects of your actions, but there are ramifications as a result of your decision.

Who cares? I voted that it bothered me, but how did everyone else vote? With over 126,000 votes, almost 52% said “Not At All.” Another 20% said “A Little,” and coming in at 28%, “A Lot.” Exactly, who cares? It wasn’t surprising to me to see the results so lopsided. Almost 75% of the voters don’t really mind athletes committing a crime. Smoking marijuana is illegal. Would you expect the same result if the question simply asked if you were bothered if athletes committed a crime? I would hope not.

The fact is, drug use is seen as an individual’s “right” these days and it doesn’t really “hurt anyone” when in reality, it does hurt other people. Families, coworkers, health providers, police, and society as a whole are impacted by drug use and sales. Well, marijuana isn’t “that bad.” It’s not? Does it not alter your state of mind and incapacitate you? Yeah, alcohol does the same thing… shouldn’t it be illegal then too? For that matter, doesn’t caffeine impact your body? The argument goes on forever and it doesn’t stop.

An argument trying to legitimize illegal drug use is not a good one. It is a crime and therefore it is wrong. If you want to change it, work through changing the law. Doing whatever you feel like because you believe it is your right is wrong. Seeing the results of the poll leaves me a bit disheartened about where our society stands at this point. I care about the integrity of our society and abiding by the law is a major component of that. If we allow our system to be whittled away by the “little” crimes, anarchy will creep in and our society as we know it will cease to exist.

“But it’s just marijuana… It’s my life and I’ll do whatever I want with it.” That also means I do not care about yours. Do we really need this kind of ideology in our country?

Citation:  http://www.espn.com/