The Pope's recent visit to the US prompted lots of discussion about him and the Church, including some odd criticisms.
People on the political right were referring to him as "that communist Pope" because of his stance on immigration and helping the less fortunate. Pretty ridiculous criticism. Anyone surprised that the leader of the Catholic Church believes in people helping each other has led a very sheltered life.
Of course, people from the political left had equally odd criticisms--revealing the shocking news that this supposedly progressive Pope doesn't support abortion or gay marriage. Weird! It's like he's a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic or something!
Pope Francis is a good man. Hopefully he will help people realize that you can disagree with people and still respect them (unless they behave disrespectfully).
Monday, September 28, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
College Acquaintances
During my first year of college I interacted with a small group of guys who (like me) were studying accounting. Sometimes we talked before class started. Some days we had lunch together at a greasy spoon--a tiny burger joint down an alley (so good!). They were classmates (not friends). After class the group headed for the subway. I did too. That's when they really started to annoy me.
The apparent leader of their group was not very evolved and the others were easily lead. He thought it was fun to make women traveling alone feel uncomfortable. He'd stare at them, make creepy comments. I swear sometimes I thought I heard him grunt. His buddies joined in and they tried to isolate that day's target from the rest of the passengers. My grandmother would have been ashamed of me if I let that happen. So I didn't.
At their worst, I'd stand between them and the girl until she got off the train. Other times I tried to explain why what they were doing was wrong. I tried to get them to see they were being disrespectful, creepy and scary. I even tried the old "what if it was your sister or GF?." But their leader had an ignorant answer for everything. I think I suggested they ask their mothers about it. But it's been a long time, I'm not sure.
But I am sure I made no progress with those boys. They laughed at what I said. Hopefully most of them grew up and changed their behavior. But I doubt it. For me the experience was a bit of a revelation. That's when I first realized you can have truth, justice and logic on your side, but that doesn't mean anyone is going to listen. After summer classes I started working full time and going to school at night. I lost touch with the boys after that. Then I started having trouble with the girls, but that's a different story. :D
I'm sure I wrote this story before, but I couldn't find it! A great post about ignorant signs posted by college boys welcoming female freshmen to campus reminded me of it. Will things ever change???
The apparent leader of their group was not very evolved and the others were easily lead. He thought it was fun to make women traveling alone feel uncomfortable. He'd stare at them, make creepy comments. I swear sometimes I thought I heard him grunt. His buddies joined in and they tried to isolate that day's target from the rest of the passengers. My grandmother would have been ashamed of me if I let that happen. So I didn't.
At their worst, I'd stand between them and the girl until she got off the train. Other times I tried to explain why what they were doing was wrong. I tried to get them to see they were being disrespectful, creepy and scary. I even tried the old "what if it was your sister or GF?." But their leader had an ignorant answer for everything. I think I suggested they ask their mothers about it. But it's been a long time, I'm not sure.
But I am sure I made no progress with those boys. They laughed at what I said. Hopefully most of them grew up and changed their behavior. But I doubt it. For me the experience was a bit of a revelation. That's when I first realized you can have truth, justice and logic on your side, but that doesn't mean anyone is going to listen. After summer classes I started working full time and going to school at night. I lost touch with the boys after that. Then I started having trouble with the girls, but that's a different story. :D
I'm sure I wrote this story before, but I couldn't find it! A great post about ignorant signs posted by college boys welcoming female freshmen to campus reminded me of it. Will things ever change???
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Prohibition
We don't do prohibtion very well in the US. I think it's a people problem.
THE "Prohibition" in the US, during which the sale of alcohol was banned, was a failure. It did reduce alcohol consumption for a time, but mostly it succeeded in making criminals rich and costing the government tax revenue. But I'm not referring to just THE Prohibition. I'm talking about most things that are banned or illegal:
Maybe the US is a country of criminals. My daughter tells me that when the US was still under British rule, our forefathers routinely headed west without permission. At the same time our Canadian brothers patiently waited for the Crown to authorize who, when and where--great examples of loyal, law-abiding citizens.
Because of our history and "spirit", I don't think banning handguns in the US would be any more successful than the bans mentioned above. Criminals would still have them (and profit greatly by selling them) and there would be more criminals than ever because the US version of law-abiding citizens are going to hide as many as they surrender.
Our gun problem won't be solved until we solve our people problem. Maybe it's not too late to become the "Nation of laws" we often claim to be. Maybe we could start with little things, like obeying existing laws. Don't drive 30 MPH over the speed limit in school zones (or call the policeman names for giving you the ticket you earned). Try stopping at a stop sign once in a while. The government needs to pitch in too. Stop looking the other way when government officials break the law. Let's take a few baby steps to show our laws matter and apply to everyone.
THE "Prohibition" in the US, during which the sale of alcohol was banned, was a failure. It did reduce alcohol consumption for a time, but mostly it succeeded in making criminals rich and costing the government tax revenue. But I'm not referring to just THE Prohibition. I'm talking about most things that are banned or illegal:
- Illegal drugs? Failure. There are so many heroin overdoses in the DC area that most local police departments stock the antidote in patrol cars. And now China is sending us "synthetic drugs". It's as bad as PCP and has been blamed for the recent spike in homicides. Oh, and PCP is back.
- Gun control? Where bans exist, failure. Jurisdictions with the most strict gun laws routinely have the worst gun violence (Chicago). We actually under-report the problem by counting only murders instead of all the shootings.
- Commercial sex? Where bans exist, failure.
- Once upon a time, abortion would have been on the list. Its ban was a back-alley nightmare.
Maybe the US is a country of criminals. My daughter tells me that when the US was still under British rule, our forefathers routinely headed west without permission. At the same time our Canadian brothers patiently waited for the Crown to authorize who, when and where--great examples of loyal, law-abiding citizens.
Because of our history and "spirit", I don't think banning handguns in the US would be any more successful than the bans mentioned above. Criminals would still have them (and profit greatly by selling them) and there would be more criminals than ever because the US version of law-abiding citizens are going to hide as many as they surrender.
Our gun problem won't be solved until we solve our people problem. Maybe it's not too late to become the "Nation of laws" we often claim to be. Maybe we could start with little things, like obeying existing laws. Don't drive 30 MPH over the speed limit in school zones (or call the policeman names for giving you the ticket you earned). Try stopping at a stop sign once in a while. The government needs to pitch in too. Stop looking the other way when government officials break the law. Let's take a few baby steps to show our laws matter and apply to everyone.
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