BY FREEFOLLOWER@CARE2.COM
You can shorten and edit the article if necessary for publication. Try not tocut out important facts though. I guess you know your job so I don’t have to tell you that:) If you publish it… Thanx! If you don’t… WHY!?!?
Jani ToivanenEbbabrahesesplanaden 12 bostad 368600 Jakobstad Finlandtel: +358414357827 e-mail:freefollower@care2.com
The God I know is a compassionate liberal
First of all I’d like to say that the war on drugs and the war on terrorism are not working. They will never solve the actual problem, only give the illusion we’re doing something about it. It’s like hitting your children to get make them behave better, when in fact you’re only filling them with more confusion, fear and eventuallyhate that leads to self destructive behaviour and violent outbursts. Both problems, suffering caused by drugs and the threat of terrorism and crime and violence in general, can only be solved by declaring a serious war on suffering. We need to battle poverty, injustice, fear, hate, oppression, ignorance and lies by all humane means possible.
I’ll try best I can to explain my vision of a fair, compassionate, free and rationalsociety. I’ll only go through drug policies, prostitution, gay rights, abortion and euthanasia. These issues bug me the most. I would have liked to go into more detail but there’s just not enough space in a newspaper article. I also wanted to write about capital punishment, punishment in general vs. humane correctional therapy, equality, gun control, children’s rights, hemp as a future resource, animal rights, environmental issues, 3rd world debt, fair trade, governmental and corporate transparancy etc. Maybe I’ll share more of my views if people seem interested.
I think every person has the right to live according to their own beliefs as long as they don’t hurt, abuse, threaten or oppress others. Same goes for corporations and governments. This means that laws shouldn’t be made according to someone’s interpretations of religious texts rather according to the message of love, compassion and free will found in these texts. A governments purpose isn’t telling it’s people how to live. Only to ensure that we’re safe and free to pursue our own happiness.
I sincerely belive that nature shouldn’t be against the law. I would like to see cannabis distributed in pretty much the same way as alcohol is today. Psychedelics like mushrooms and other entheogenic plants could be sold in psychedelic shops. Hard drugs should be described by specialized doctors to people who already use them. No marketing should be allowed for cigarettes,alcohol, cannabis or other recreational drugs. Only the honest personal opinionof people with no other motivation than speaking their mind and scientific research.
I’m convinced that the use of hard drugs would diminish pretty quickly in a system like this, and very few new users would be created. I’m also convinced cannabis would balance the harmful effects of alcohol in society. People who use cannabis don’t drink as much. Alcohol companies know this and that’s why they are among the two biggest contributors to the American anti drug campaigns. People who use cannabis are also much friendlier and not violent at all.
The other big contributor is the pharmaceutical industry which want’s a monopoly of the substances we use for medicinal purposes. They are afraid of cannabis which is also a medicine used to treat over 100 conditions, including nausea caused by cancer and AIDS treatment, more effectively than modern pharmaceuticals. Everyone who needs it could grow their own medicine in their closet or in the backyard almost for free.
I know some of you are afraid of leagalizing drugs but consider the benefits. We could build up a much more effective drug treatment system with the money saved in law enforcement-, court- and jail costs and pay for more drug education. All the money (400 billion US$/year!!!) in the drug business that now goes into sponsoring organized crime and terrorism would be kept in our society and create a lot of jobs. Terrorist organizations and organized crime would run out of money. Nobody would have to steal and kill to get money for drugs. Nobody would have to die of overdoses or get HIV or other diseases through infected needles. Nobody would be forced to prostitute themselves to support their drug habbit. The often very creative people who use drugs could much more effectively contribute to society. If we do it responsibly we could better control the drugs and our children wouldn’t get their hands on them as easily. At least not the hard drugs. Drug use is a personal choice and not a criminal act. Drug abuse is a medicalproblem and not a law enforcement matter.
The other thing we need to do to put an end to organized crime and relieve a lot ofpeople from suffering is leagalize prostitution. We should do this in a way so the women and men who chose to work as prostitutes get as much of the money as possible. They should get regular medical check ups and a safe working environment.Programs should be put in place to make it as easy as possible for these people tochange carriers. We would get rid of all street prostitution and trafficing. This wouldalso make it possible for disabled people to enjoy a sex life which I think they have a right to.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in a world whithout prostitution and drug abuse, and all other forms of abuse. I just think this is the only way we’ll ever get there.
There’s nothing unnatural about homosexuality. It exists in the animal kingdom and it’s part of some peoples nature so I call it natural. People who think sex is just for procreating are very naive and I feel really sorry for their partners. What this world needs is more love no matter what sexual orientation. We should encourage committed, solid relationships between homosexuals as well. They should have the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Even the right to adopt children. There are already a lot of children growing up with homosexual parents. There’s no doubt that it’s easier for a good loving homosexual couple to raise a child than for a single parent. They are surely able to provide a better environment than orphanages and dysfunctional straight couples, which there are a lot of.
Three-four weeks into the pregnancy the fetus develops it’s own heartbeat. The heart is associated with features I consider most human, like truth and love. So this is when I think it becomes human and abortions past this point shouldn’t be allowed. Before the heart starts beating you’re just a growth in your mother and after it stops beating you’re just a corpse. Easy enough for me to understand. If we educated women to test themselves regularly or if there was any chance of pregnancy this would be enough time to make a decision. In Finland, and it’s probably the same in the USA, you can have an abortion till the 20th week which I think is much too long.
Anyone suffering from an incurable, fatal disease has the right to euthanasia when the suffering becomes unbearable. We send our young ones to kill and be killed in stupid wars and people don’t even have this right! No further explanations needed. I can understand the fear of drugs but hypocrisy on this scale just makes me angry.
If you’re wondering what I would get out of living in a society like this it’s simply knowing that we are free to realize ourselves and as safe as possible.
I’m a heterosexual man. I’m a born again Christian and the only biblical person I completely belive in is Jesus. I certainly don’t have any worldly authorities. I also find God through other religions and a lot of other places. I’ve never payed for sex and I never will. If I got a woman pregnant I would want her to keep it no matter what the circumstances. When it comes to euthanasia I can’t say for sure but I’m fairly certain I will stick it out to the end. I’ve tried heroin, cocaine, GHB and mushrooms. I’ve used amphetamine, extacy and a lot of alcohol and cannabis. Today I only use alcohol and cannabis in moderation. I know I’m a good person so any s
ystem that treats me as a criminal is unjust.
If you agree with me e-mail this piece to other newspapers or if you know any other languages please translate this text and e-mail it to newspapers where the language is spoken. You can just pick out the parts you like. Don’t forget to sign it. If you disagree please write your own article on what morals you believe in, what rights people should have and why it would be good for society. Then e-mail it to a few newspapers. If you have any comments or questions please e-mail me.
Jani Toivanenfreefollower@care2.com