The biggest problem we have in this
country is with what I call "Morality Nazis". These
are those people who feel that their morality is the ONLY morality.
They try to force their beliefs on everyone.
Look at the laws in this country.
Laws against drug use, gun ownership, abortion, gambling, same
sex marriages and consentual sex acts between adults have absolutely
nothing to do with public health and safety, and everything to
do with someone trying to force their morality on everyone else.
Think about this for a minute. Let's
take prostitution for example. You would think that prostitution
is illegal because of concerns for public health, but really look
at what is happening.
A women owns her body, and it is
hers to do with what she decides. So circumstances dictate a woman
decides to become a prostitute. Our government, the same one that
people like to think of as some benevolent parent figure, immediately
brands this woman a criminal. She is forced, because of laws banning
prostitution, to conduct her business in dark alleyways and sleazy
hotels in the worst districts in the country. Every night she
puts her very life on the line just to make a few dollars.
Now, compare this with what happens
in the only area where prostitution is legal in this country,
parts of Nevada. There, prostitutes can work in a safe, clean
environment. They get benefits from their employers. They are
required to have medical checkups on a regular basis. They don't
have to worry about getting killed while trying to make a living.
If the government really cared about
public health and safety, prostitution would be legal all over
the country, not just in Nevada.
A few years ago I spent a week in
Las Vegas with my wife and son. There was practically no evidence
of the prostitution trade. There were no women walking the streets
at night, hassling people walking or driving by. Compare this
to the trip my wife and I took to Atlantic City just a couple
of years ago. In New Jersey, Prostitution is illegal. Yet, every
night we were there, I was shocked to see prostitutes openly conducting
business on the street right behind the casinos.
When you make something illegal,
you hand that industry over to criminals. You give up any chance
of being able to control the activity. This is why Prohibitions
just don't work.
Here is a question for you. Why
is it all right for say, Fred the mechanic to come home after
a hard day at work, drop onto the sofa, flick on the tv, and pop
open a beer, but it is not all right for Joe the mechanic to come
home, drop onto the sofa, flick on the tv, and light up a joint?
The only reason why is because the GOVERNMENT says so. The Morality
Nazis have convinced the government that for Joe to light up a
joint is wrong and he should be arrested for it.
Why is it a crime to do this in
the privacy of your own home? Have you ever heard the term "Victimless
Crime"? That is what they call crimes like drug use, prostitution,
and gambling. Now I ask you, how can there be a crime committed
if there is no victim? How can the government decide that a crime
has been committed when the two parties involved feel that there
was no crime? What gives the government the right to say that
anything that happens between two consenting adults, or by one
adult in the privacy of their own home, is a crime?
THINK ABOUT THIS! For a crime to
have been committed, there must be a victim. The only reason there
are Victimless crimes are because there are some people who just
don't like that type of behavior. Because they don't like it,
they don't think anyone should be doing these things, so they
fought to have them made illegal. NOT BECAUSE OF PUBLIC SAFETY,
BUT BECAUSE OF THEM WANTING TO FORCE THEIR MORALITY ON THE REST
OF THE POPULATION! IF THERE IS NO VICTIM, THERE IS NO CRIME!
You may have seen the bumper sticker
that says "If you are against abortions, don't have one".
I would extend that to include: If you don't like drugs, don't
do any. If you don't like guns, don't buy one. If you don't like
prostitutes, don't visit one. If you don't like homosexuals, don't
date one.
Everyone wants to live their life
the way they want to, without being bothered by anyone else. For
this to happen, you have to be willing to let OTHER people live
the way THEY want, without being bothered by YOU. It's not up
to you to decide what consenting adults do in private.
See, the problem is that people
are just too damn nosy to stay out of other people's business.
They want to FORCE their morality on everyone else. The government
should not be in the business of determining what is moral and
what is immoral, that is a personal decision that must be made
individually.
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