I’ve alway been the kind of person that questions what’s going around me. There are just so many things that I see people say and do that make me wonder “what the hell are they thinking?!” So this blog is dedicated to some of the questions that have been bothering me lately. There is really no rhyme or reason to the order that these at in, this is just me dumping my brain out. And away we go….
Marijuana users – I understand most of you just want to be able to get high in peace, but in your fight for legalization I feel like most of you are overlooking something that, at least in my opinion, is pretty important. The threat of genetically modified marijuana. It is a very real thing and has been for years, since 07 I believe, and while you may not think its made it in to the US, there is a very good chance it has. I’m sure there are plenty of you that don’t really care about the risks of genetically modified organisms, but I know there are many that do and many that are very aware of what companies like Monsanto have done to farmers across the world.
So I ask you this, if weed is legalized, what’s going to stop Monsanto from filing a patent on their own strain of weed and begin to force that upon the pot smoking public? It’s no secret that they have a lot of political backing and getting their way would not be hard for them to do. Just like with their current staple crops, they’ll accidentally release their seeds throughout the country and begin to run out all the small growers and then what? Government weed? Call me crazy, but I personally think that letting the government have more control over a mind altering substance than they already do is very dangerous. No one knows what the long term effects of GM weed would be. We can’t even get a straight answer on the long term effects of GM corn, other than all the farmers that have been bankrupted and heirloom seeds that have been tainted.
Personally, I do not smoke weed and have no desire to for health reasons. I’m one of a small percentage of people who has adverse reactions to it. That doesn’t mean I’m anti weed, I’m all for personal freedom, as long as your freedom to be you includes my freedom to be free from you. I just think that just legalizing it would really end up hurting us more than helping. Decriminalization, in my eyes, is the better route but that’s just me.
“Slacktivists” – Does yelling at people on Facebook and Twitter really help your cause? Personally, I don’t know too many people that like having someone else’s beliefs shoved down their throat. Instead of yelling at people to belief what you say then berating those who openly disagree with you, why not try sharing the information that you used to learn about the thing you’re passionate about with people and letting them come to their own conclusion. And if you’re a good researcher , you’ll be able to offer multiple sources and hopefully you’ll be able to look rationally at all sides. A saying that I’ve always tried to live by is “don’t trust the ones who are selling you the truth, trust the ones who are seeking the truth.” It’s no secret that no matter what, there will be people that disagree with you and there will always be people that just won’t be able to wrap their head around somethings, so instead of screaming at everyone, refocus yourself. Every journey begins with one step and every friendship begins with one word, that mentality translates well in to the world of activism. Just my opinion though.
This one is for everyone – This is something that has really been bothering me over the past few years. Why is it that so many of those in my generation (18-36) will claim to be open minded but when it comes down to it, anything outside of their little box of “reality” couldn’t possibly be true. Sadly, this mentality is rampant in the “truth movement”, occupiers, progressives and in a lot of Ron Paul supporters.
Truthers, occupiers and Disciples of Paul all seem to have a lot of similarities in this sense. They all seem to realize that there is a problem in the power structure but they’re only willing to look at a slightly larger piece of the puzzle than the general public. God forbid you try to offer them any information that might go deeper. I’m convinced it’s an ego thing, they have to be the smartest one in the room. That’s not saying that this that dig deeper are smarter, one thing I’ve noticed though is that there is a breed of skeptics in the truest sense of the word that really get it. I like to think of myself as almost one of those people. I don’t consider myself to be a master of any subject, I know I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to my quest for knowledge and the truth. But there is one thing that I think sets me apart from many others and that’s the ability to look at most situations from many different angles. I think that is one of the most valuable abilities one could have.
Take this Kony 2012 thing for instance, sorry for beating a dead horse. What a polarized campaign it is. You have those that are supporting it and those that are against it, but when arguments come up, there is very little rational thought brought in to the fray. Every has picked their side and that’s that. Instead of questioning different aspects of what’s going people would rather yell back and forth. Does that accomplish anything? Once again, everyone is so hell bent on being the smartest person in the room and just can not seem to let go of that need to feed the ego.
To be continued…..