Ominick wrote:
My take on things mentioned in this thread:
In my experience, the majority of people who throw around words like "socialist" and "nationalization" to criticize Obama have no idea what those words actually mean. It's disheartening to see people simply repeating everything they hear on FOX and not doing any research for themselves. It's likely a socialist government would actually benefit them: one of socialism's most important ideas is that society should spread its wealth more evenly throughout the population and not concentrate it in a small segment of that population. It's the very rich who would have the most to lose from socialism, and I think we all agree they don't need that much money anyway. So I think some socialist elements would benefit the country greatly.
As for abortion, I really think this is a no-brainer. It doesn't matter whether or not you agree with it. The fact of the matter is, nobody has the right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. Outlawing abortion would not stop abortions. There would simply be a sharp increase in dangerous "back alley" abortions. And what about children who would have been born with a handicap, or were the product of a rape? People wonder why Obama put money for contraceptives in the stimulus plan? This is why. Families would be able to avoid having unwanted children (thus saving a significant amount of money), but we could also cut back on the number of abortions, since the child would not have been conceived in the first place.
As for drugs, I think the majority of drugs should remain illegal. Cocaine, heroin, meth - these are all extremely dangerous and cause untold suffering in the lives of millions. But there are some drugs, such as marijuana, which are not dangerous and I believe should be legalized. There have been numerous studies on the subject of marijuana, all of which have concluded that its use is not a risk to society. Nobody ever died from smoking a joint (although smoking pot does increase your chance of having an accident of some sort - but, really, "don't be stupid" is the lesson here).
Now onto prostitution. Yes, I believe that should be legalized too. It's the oldest business on the planet and it's not going away, so we might as well regulate it and make sure that prostitutes have access to health care and contraceptives. In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, prostitutes are checked weekly for STDs and monthly for HIV, and condoms are mandatory for oral sex and intercourse. You may not agree with it, but I think we have an obligation to make sure that this industry is at least a safe one.
As for Guantanamo Bay, and giving lawyers to prisoners - Ooooh, lawyers! We wouldn't want to treat them as human beings and give them fair trials, now would we? I think it's shameful the way we've held the prisoners at Guantanamo with such a total disregard of our own laws. If these men are guilty, the evidence will speak for itself at trial.
That's all for now. I might offer my opinions again if more interesting stuff comes up.
