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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edwarda who wrote (77008)	4/6/2000 3:40:00 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 108807

OK, "risks" is my word. No problem. Risks is the correct term when making a decision on a course of action. You can't say forbid an act because of the consequences when the act hasn't been committed and the consequences are iffy. You can say that there are certain risks inherent in committing the act and that these should be weighted in the decision making process. If you go in for cosmetic surgery on your pinky toe, the doctor goes over the risks (infections, nerve damage, etc). If he said that there is a 95% chance that your brain would stop functioning you would probably decide not to have the surgery. So to belabor the D&A issue a bit more, you can't say that when an individual goes out to have a drink the risk of suicide, accidents, disease, tragic and long term social consequences will occur in relation to this one time act. You can say that when the culture continues to wink at the practice of recreational stoning, all of these things and more will occur and at a very significant level. So, if you look at all of society as part of your body and the risks to the action of one time recreational stoning as a big thing, like cosmetic surgery on your pinky toe, but a then do you see why I say the risks far out way the benenefits? Of course you don't make decisions for all of society, because you are not empowered to do so. You don't make decisions for persons outside of your sphere of influence (family or whatever) because you are not empowered to do so. This is the helpless or apathetic feeling that a lot of Americans have in relation to a FAILING system. So, what are you empowered to do? At least you are empowered to use your gift of communication and your excellent reasoning powers to look at the big picture and call it what it is, a damned shame. People are in jail because they are messing up, it may also be that the system doesn't have an appropriate and effective way of cleaning up the messes. If you can do that, when looking at the big picture you can confront people on an individual basis and support them in strengthening our society by standing, or speaking against D&A as a harmless and romantic avenue to "fun." Have you ever seen a children's classroom where the children are generally disruptive and the program appears to be failing, yet the teacher seems to be using the standard discipline that is working in other classrooms. It is quite common. Why do you suppose this is?