Another Thing I Don't Understand

I won't go into how disappointed, disheartened, depressed, and downright scared I am over the results of Tuesday's election--after all, anyone reading my bio -----> would have a good understanding of the place I am coming from.  Let's just say that I disagree with the majority and leave it at that.  However, there IS one thing that came out of the election that I WILL talk about--and here goes...

Other than fat people, possibly one of the most vilified groups in this country is smokers.  Through the years, it has been the goal of a small group to destroy every freedom any smoker has ever had in this country.  Smokers can no longer do their thing in restaurants, bars, offices, basically anywhere indoors but private residences--and I'm sure THAT will change in the years to come.  Actually, there are some places where a smoker can't even smoke outside--beaches are off-limits and there are some parks where a person can't smoke.  (Of course the biggest park--Walt Disney World--banned smoking quite a few years ago.  Thankfully this was AFTER I quite.  ;))  A smoker is not allowed to be within a certain distance of most buildings before lighting up.  And frankly, I am disgusted by this.  Even though I no longer smoke, I feel it is up to the individual establishment to decide whether or not to be smoking or non-smoking.  I feel this is a case of 'supply and demand' so to speak.  If enough people want to patronize a smoking establishment, then the place will make money.  If people want a non-smoking place to congregate in, then they will stay away from a place allowing smokers.  And this will all work itself out if given the opportunity.  I don't feel as if this is something that should be regulated by the government.  But, this is the world as we know it today.

Other than individual businesses, etc, I feel this is a violation of people's rights.  If a person wants to smoke, let them.  I don't like the idea of the US becoming more and more of a 'nanny state,' legislating the way we live our lives.  We are seeing it in other areas as well, with some cites outlawing 'super sized' soft drinks and disallowing the kinds of ingredients put in foods, all because it isn't 'healthy' for us to eat/drink the stuff.  Again, it is a person's right to eat him/herself to death if s/he so chooses.  Individual freedoms are very quickly being taken away from us and we are allowing it.

Okay, so the reasoning behind the banning of smoking is because it harms those who choose not to smoke.  Fine.  And how do we know this?  We know this because of 'statistics' and 'studies.'  I'm NOT saying that smoking is good for you--other than the fact that it is GREAT for calming a person down--but I know enough about statistics and studies to know you can make them say anything you want in order to prove your point of view.  Is this what has happened with smoking?  To a certain extent I believe it has.  But, I'm not here to debate the smoking vs non-smoking issue--I have one other thing that is bothering the hell out of me...

On Tuesday, Colorado and Washington legalized the smoking of marijuana--and people cheered.  I am not going to come down on either the pro or con side of smoking pot, but I wonder this:  why is it okay to smoke marijuana, but awful to smoke cigarettes?  I will just about guarantee that a good percentage of people ecstatic about the change in the law about pot were equally ecstatic when the smoking of cigarettes was banned.  Something just isn't right here.  And I wish this could be explained to me...

All Over But The Crying

Later today we will have voted--some have already done so.  The phone calls (thankfully) will stop and the massive mailings will no longer show up in our mailboxes.  Unfortunately, we will then have to listen to the winners crow about their victory and the losers cry about how the election was stolen from them.  But, it will be over--maybe.

Every election in recent memory has brought out the 'nasty' in a lot of people, but this one defies all understanding--and I don't know how we, as a country, will recover.  The level that a whole lot of people have gone to to vilify 'the other guy' is mind boggling.  And it just isn't on the national, front page/TV show/radio stage, either.  We saw the depths of hatred in our own neighborhoods, among our own families and friends--whether on Facebook, Twitter, or in person.  From what I understand, friendships have fallen by the wayside and families have been broken by this election.  And I am appalled by some of the things I have heard/seen.

I can't imagine what went on in people's minds to do the rude, petty, and downright mean things that happened.  For example, one thing that I saw on the interwebs really described the entire election in one grand example:

One day I was doing a bit of surfing when I came across a blog post by a woman who I do not know.  She posted a picture of her dog using the neighbor's yard as a bathroom--an offense that is punishable in many municipalities, by the way.  Next to the dog doing its thing was a political sign of a candidate this woman didn't like.  In her post, with malicious glee, she said (paraphrased), "And even the dog knows (candidate) is crappy!"

Just when did we get to this point and where do we go from here?  I fear for all of us if we don't change, and soon.  The world just doesn't make a whole lot of sense anymore.