today i am venting. i don't even know if there will be a nugget of wisdom at the end of this post. i must say i am fed up w/ certain things...........
the first one you ask? legal drinking age. this has bothered me since before i could drink legally. not b/c i was a lush, not b/c i partied, not b/c i was scared to break the law, but b/c the logic is so far off it's crazy. in our great country the united states of america an 18yr old can fight & die for our country, their ideals & agendas; they can own a car, house, &/or weapon, they can vote (ya know help choose who governs our nation etc), they can marry, they can have children (if they don't already),most have been working for years, they can get into debt, travel the world, are responsible for their own medical care, food choices etc, BUT you can not drink alcohol. oh & you can buy cigarettes....(more on that later) our country is telling people you can do everything else, you are intelligent enough, responsible enough, or at least old enough to learn life lessons for yourself EXCEPT when it comes to alcohol. why wouldn't people break that law? why wouldn't people challenge that claim? i think we have more problems b/c we make it untouchable, or create a stigma w/ it. other countries have it around, it's normal, they have younger drinking ages & they have less underage drinking because of it. it is that no complex, our teens/young adults are told no & that makes the desire stronger for it, especially b/c of the extreme limitations on it. do i acknowledge it can be abused? yes, do i acknowledge that there is a certain gene that predisposes many americans to addictions & thrill seeking? yes, but that still doesn't mean we should villianize alcohol the way we do. it's just idiocracy. again, you can die for your country, vote for your leaders, but don't drink...... if people think they aren't responsible enough to drink, what makes them think they are responsible enough for any of the other life events that they face everyday? it's about education & how we market things. it is about learning how to self govern.
which also brings me to the issue of cigarettes.... some parts of NY are changing the laws so you have to be 21yrs old to buy cigarettes &/or e-cigs. now as far as i'm concerned e-cigs (or vaps) are way safer than regular cigarettes. yes, i am not a scientist & yes i know lots of research still has to be done on long term affects, but seriously? they don't have the toxins & the residue turns into water you exhale. i know the e-cig world doesn't really have enough $ to fund research & most likely tobacco companies are funding research to disprove anything that would take away from their revenue....... i know this sounds a bit conspiracy theory.... but i do live w/ a man who can find a conspiracy around every corner, and we really shouldn't be so naive to think that our country isn't run by big corp $. ok, so i digress...... i do acknowledge cigarettes are bad for you. i don't like them, but i also feel people can make that choice if they are going to buy/use them or not. i also feel this age shouldn't be 21. do they think it will keep early teens from buying these products? do they think it will discourage the use? no, it won't, also people who have been able to buy cigarettes at 18 now wouldn't be allowed to..... seriously i do believe in laws to protect the masses & help our citizens, but i also believe in freedom of choice & the ability to govern oneself. the best way to tackle these type of issues is thru education & social reform. sometimes the answer isn't banning or making laws stricter.......
ok, i think i'm finished ranting. i really just had to get that out there.... no wait, i just remembered one more thing..... (then the phrase one more thing was repeated in my head said in the voice of uncle from the jackie chan cartoons) in florida there is a school board member who wants to create a dress code for parents as they pick off/drop off kids....... this bothers me to the nth degree. she feels that kids will not take their education seriously if parents aren't dressed to a certain standard at the time they drop them at the door. SERIOUSLY? how dare she! seriously. so what about the kids' character, or grades? how about the fact that the parents are dropping off their kids, attending school functions, making sure their children do their homework....... how about teaching our kids to accept people regardless of how they look or dress? to understand that maybe we don't know the lives or schedules of the parents.......... we don't know what their values, neighborhood or income level. that we can work w/ the children, teach them, let the parents be parents & know that the child will grow & develop to become who they were meant to be thru the influence of their family, neighborhood, education & natural disposition. it is one thing if the school seeing a need to help families move out of poverty levels, cross language barriers etc try to establish community programs or have a social worker to connect the families to proper organizations to ultimately create healthier families that can prosper, but that's not what she proposed..... she wanted to push her set of values and judgements on her students & their parents. unreal. each person, family, culture etc has a list of priorities. yes education should be one of them, but how they choose to encourage & foster learning in their children is for the family to decide. the teacher can & should create an environment that allows students to grow & learn to the best of their ability. that doesn't need to change just b/c a parent comes to school in pj's w/ curlers in their hair, or a business suit. every child, every human treated equally & fairly. that is how our next generation will succeed.
