meat

I'm a vegetarian, contemplating going vegan. here's why

Marijuana pt.2

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/05/13/mexico.fox.marijuana/index.html#cnnSTCText

Marijuana

have you ever felt that you just cant stand the world anymore?

i'm so sick and tired of problems in the world.

i'm tired of hypocrisy, hate, intolerance, ignorance. etc etc.

i was having a talk with my friends mom today about a certain political issue. Now i am a left sided political thinker and she is right sided. Now i have discovered that most of these extreme right sided people don't have much of an argument for what they say. they have a strict mind set and aren't necessarily sure of why its there.

we were talking about the legalization of marijuana.

i was giving her a little bit of a history lesson about why its illegal in the first place. and if you are thinking that its illegal because its supposedly dangerous, you are wrong.

first of all, its not that dangerous. second the main reason why the government maid it illegal in the first place was to try and deport mexicans during the great depression or make them leave the country so the government could spend less money. then, the press instilled fear into the peoples heart after releasing propaganda movies like Reefer Madness, which don't even actually portray the real effects of marijuana.

then the man in charge of the press decided to allow a scientist to do a study of marijuana, and he supplied the scientist with marijuana hoping that the tests would go in his favor, well that didn't really work out. The scientist released statements saying that marijuana had no large effect on the human psyche and that it didn't seem to dangerous. well the man in charge of the press didn't like these results, so they were never published.

if you think all of this is made up, watch the history channel show "Hooked : Illegal Drugs" or the movie "Grass" which cover the history of marijuana in the U.S.

So the way the government made it illegal was that they decided to impose a stamp for people to cultivate marijuana. Without this govt stamp, you couldn't grow or have marijuana, but in order to get the stamp you had to have the marijuana in hand. well because of this govt swindle people were arrested on the spot when they applied for these stamps.

in the sixties when the hippie movement started to pick up, we had a little policy battle going and our dear friend Timothy Leary decided to speak out against these govt stamps. well the courts realized that it was unjust and they decided to repeal the law. so marijuana was legal for a short period of time. and things were at peace. but with large opposition to the war, the evil president of the time, Nixon, wanted a way to silent his opposition. And with the help of a man called Jay Edgar Hoover they devised a plan to lower opposition to the current regime. they realized that the majority of the people that opposed the war were hippies and that they all shared a common practice, Marijuana, and so they decided to make it illegal in an effort to silent opposition. and guess what category they put weed in? the same category as opiates and LSD.

Later that century, a man named Ronald Reagan decided to implement mandatory minimal sentencing and the rest is history.

about 50 percent of the prison population are in there for drug charges. most of them being non violent (possession, intent to sell, sale, production). i understand that hard drugs need to be punished because you can become addicted very easily or you can over dose, but marijuana, really? our prisons are extremely overcrowded and the fact that we can do something about it and wont is shocking.

the prison system is only making these people worse. prisons are known for being colleges for criminals. when you go into prison as a criminal, you come out a better one.

lets just think for a moment...

you can sign up for the military and go and kill some one in another country or die yourself, but you cant smoke weed?

you can get 100 dollars worth of alcohol and kill yourself, but with 100 dollars worth of weed you can only fall asleep.

it just doesn't make sense.

freedom of religion i also a factor.

what about rastafarians? they cant partake in their rituals because the government doesnt allow a natural plant that has a history of use dating back 5000 years ago?

what about hindus? the belief on marijuana is that Shiva brought the holy herb down from the heavens for people to use for supreme relaxation.

why the fuss, the people that are doing it aren't hurting anyone else?

the fact is, if you don't want to do it, don't. but don't take away another persons right.

vegetarian

i have recently decided to be a vegetarian. it has been about a month since my last bite of animal flesh, and let me tell you its not that hard to give up meat, and you automatically feel like you are doing the right thing when you stop eating meat. Now i did it it the healthy way and i decided to research t before i did it so i could get enough protein etc. etc.

what inspired me were quotes from leo tolstoy. i will give you a few so you can get a feel for the cause. also here are some websites for vegetarians or those curious about vegetarianism or veganism.

eatveg.com

ivu.org

happycow.net

here are some of the quotes. from tolstoy

A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.

If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals.

Pity is always the same feeling, it doesn't matter, whether you feel it for a human being or a fly.

the fact that i did this the that i have a supreme angst against violence and of late i have been disgruntled about people who dont practice what they preach. its so strange how you can change so fast, after the first two weeks i was disgusted at the sight of meat and its now something of complete repulsion.

peace

Sophistication

Peace is sophisticated.

It's not for everyone.

It says things are all related.

and it's said can never be done.

Tolstoy was a pacifist.

Sarte was a exestentialist

but really there are no ists

except being a human-ist

protecting the home land

i don't think i've really typed up a political blog before but gosh darn it, Rush Limbaugh pushes my buttons. This guy needs to leave the country. What is the big deal with protecting the homeland? What is there to protect? I heard him talking the other day about gay marriage and the guy is a nut ball. What happened to the pursuit of happiness section in our government. Love thy neighbor, who care if he is gay, how does it affect these people? Just because their holy book said so? If god didnt want gay people there wouldnt be gay people. God didnt write the bible, humans did. People with individual thoughts and biases. Jesus didnt write it either. so these people that wrote it werent divine, they werent deities they were just people and a true christian, catholic, mormon, would love that person for who they are not their sexual orientation and they would allow them to do whatever it is that makes that person happy. Gay marriage ist affecting your rights in anyway

Connection

In class today we had a discussion about Religion, etc. How people are so attached to their beliefs and their way only, and that they don't seem to realize that at the basis of most religious beliefs are the same concepts, Love, Peace, Non Violence. Thats pretty much what they say. Also, Treat others how you would like to be treated, all men are created equal. These so called "Religious Extremists" have overlooked that rule in their religious extremism. Buddha says that our suffering pretty much comes from attachment. If we are attached to one set of religious beliefs and are intolerant of others, we are going to suffer. Love thy Neighbor, every religion says it differently, but they all mean the same thing. If you don't like someone or something they do, thats alright but don't hate them for it or hurt them in anyway, thats just asking for some bad Karma, just be o.k. with what they do, that is their trip and let them ride it. Its o.k. to not want to hang out with them or be their friend, but don't hate them or want to use violence against them.

from your dear friend and hippy,

David.

what do you learn from Philosophers

a philosophers goal is to make you ask more questions, and to think differently and in different perspectives.  Other than learning different thought processes, what do you learn from philosophers?  If you love facts and points, philosophy s not for you.  There are no points or facts in philosophy because everything is changing at rapid paces.  you can never step in the same river twice.

For all the people that think peace is lame

i feel bad writing this but i need to say it.  some people talk to me about peace and how it will never exist and that violence is used to get important issues solved.  first of all im am not proud to admit, that the are right in a way.  Peace does not exist and it doesnt seem like its going to exist, but we can try one by one to be more peaceful and not use violence or think violent thoughts toward one another and create a revolution. PEACE is idealistic, meaning its an idea, one person cant do it on there own, it needs help from people around the world. so if you want peace, try being peaceful, also and love your enemy.  thats something ive been really trying to do lately, its hard but its worth it to be the bigger person in the end.