Drugs and Deviance

We did an activity in class this week that dealt with drug descriptions and matching the level of legality for each. We did not know the names of each drug and we weren't supposed to try and figure that out. Simply we had to categorize the drugs as legal over the counter, legal prescription, illegal misdemeanor, or illegal felony. It was interesting to see how some of the legal drugs we categorized as illegal and vise versa. Based on the descriptions my group put heroine in the legal prescription category, while we put nicotine in the misdemeanor category. We had several debates about weather certain drugs should be legal or not based on the severity of effects. For the warnings on nearly every single one there was a "possibility of death". This just goes to show that any drug, no matter how common, can be dangerous if you abuse it. If a person were walking around on the streets with a bottle of aspirin then people wouldn't think anything of it, even if their plan was to go pop 10 at a time around the next corner. But if someone were shooting up heroine on the streets, not only would people think something of it, but everyone would know as cops would be on this person. Reason being? This is an act of deviance and not only out of the norm, but illegal. People residing behind prison bars are there because of one reason: they participated in illegal deviance. It is crazy to hear cases of someone selling marijuana being in prison for longer than someone murdering their spouse. That just doesn't seem right, but because of the War on Drugs in America the amount of people in prison caught with possession of drugs has sky rocketed. In my opinion, if you intentionally end another person's life, then you don't deserve to continue living yours after minimal punishment. No, we shouldn't physically end murderers lives by means of death sentence, but we should technically end them by keeping them locked up until their death. Their only option then is to live their lives, yet in the worst conditions possible. We shouldn't sympathize with killers, but rather give them a taste of their own medicine, torture.

Age 18: Adult?

This week in class we discussed milestones in our lives. In third grade we had to do a "milestone" project. Back then the most important milestones in my life consisted of being born, taking my first steps, saying my first words, my first day of school, and learning how to ride a bike. Now as we looked at the time-line of life in a much broader view I realize there are so many more milestones that would be important to me now. I have already passed several like getting my license and starting high school, but there are still huge ones to look forward to in my future like going to college, getting married, and having kids. Milestones are something to look back on, to live in the moment of, and to dream of in years to come. One milestone that people find important is the age of 18, the start of one's adulthood. At this age we are able to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes, porn, have no curfew, join the military, and are legally considered an "adult". But in reality these are just benefits of the age that the government has set for us, it doesn't automatically mean we are considered an adult the moment the clock strikes 12:01 on our 18th birthday. My sister started living in her own apartment out in California at age 18, she has a part time job, goes to school, has a dog, all of the things that adults might have too. Yet, my parents still support her financially and pay for her apartment, without them she'd be lucky to be able to share an apartment with 4 other kids. She might think of herself as an adult because she's living independent and not even remotely in the same state as our parents, but really she's not an adult. Now at age 20 she still has the same job, goes to school, and takes care of her dog, but she still has no steady job and is just a year away from graduating college. An adult would know what to do after their senior year, but she will just have to see what the future holds for her much like young adults all over the nation.

Aikido

Today in class we learned about aikido. Aikido is described as a Japanese martial art that combines martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. People practice it to know how to get out of bad situations without necessary fighting. It is more of a defensive act rather than an attack in order to use the energy of your opponent against themselves. I feel like this is a good skill to have because it will teach people in today's society to be less violent and more focused on the inner goal. It's a more positive way to solve problems rather than fighting. Yes, if someone attacks you you will be forced to twist them into uncomfortable positions, but only for your own benefit. Schools should teach this in opposition to fighting, or at least advertise it. If everyone was aikido knowledgeable then the world would be more peaceful and focused on their own actions. We wouldn't follow instinct but more thought based actions. Aikido seems like a revolution that we should all become involved in, especially in the sense of self defense.