Meeting people

It used to be you met interesting people on the train or on the plane. Or at lunch. Now many in our American society think that if you start talking to them on a plane you are interrupting their life because they have their headphones and in like they're listening to something. And if you try to approach somebody just because they either think your salesman or a creep trying to move on them.

It's not that way! It never was that way! People just want to be people. Sadly there are many that take advantage of this and use sales techniques and chatting up people in an effort to make money. But for the most part if you sitting there stuck in line you know you can start a conversation with the people around you or beside you get to know somebody in the experience. We can be part of somebody else's life for a few minutes.

I think that there's a lot of fear about being monitored by the press and by certain political entities in an effort to control everybody. The less we talk to each other the more we scream at each other and the less we think for ourselves and jump to the side that we been told we're part of automatically.

I think that it would be a lot better if we just slow down, sit down, start a conversation with someone if possible. Yes, you'll hear about Jesus, the latest sale, and maybe somebody's grandchildren. But we'll also be more interconnected than we are with our phones.

Legalizing the illegal

I've recently discovered that my youngest child has been smoking marijuana for about a year. He chose it. He purposefully went to see the friend that would give it to him and not go see the friends he grew up with.

When he finally admitted it after being caught he said he thought it should be legalized. He saw nothing wrong with this illegal activity even though he had had done everything he could to hide it.

The confession echos in my head. He lied repeatedly. He misled people. He hid his actions.

People hide many things: Watching porn. Beating their significant others. Alcohol abuse. Embezzling money. Abusing children sexually, emotionally, physically. Crossing into another country illegally. Taking welfare when it's not needed.

I've joked that companies will eventually have to say in their announcements and advertising whether sales and BOGO offers apply to their "non-paying customers". Then today I learned that a district attorney in Texas is choosing not to enforce the laws against stealing if it's less than $750 worth of merchandise and it's done to relieve "poverty" and not for personal gain.

I find it interesting and sad that so many people feel that the way to solve the "it's morally wrong" puzzle by legalizing it and changing the definition of "wrong".

I hope my son learns that defining deviancy down still doesn't make it right. And that the issue isn't necessarily the action, it's the choices and attitude that led to the illegal activity.