Thursday, November 4, 2010

Living and Suffering for what you believe in

It is against the constitution to prohibit people from pursuing their own happiness. Meaning, it is our human right whether we want to smoke pot, have a drink, or smoke a cigarette. I am not in favor of cigarettes, or alcohol, because it harms the body, however I would not take that right away from someone. That's what freedom is entitled to and when Prop 19 didn't pass the government took our freedom even more. Luckily, almost half the people voted YES, therefore it will be offered again in the 2012 election.

But this wasn't my entire point for this post.

In 1912, Alfred Wegener proposed the idea of continental drifts. His theory meant continents were slowly drifting around the Earth. He could not prove this theory, but spent his life trying. In 1931, he may have had a heart failure and passed away. He was 50 years old. Wegener's theory was not accepted until the 1950s.

This made me think about pot.

For so many years, people have devoted their lives to prove a noble cause, ideas, things worth fighting for, like gay marriage (Harvey Milk), and most of the time it doesn't become acknowledged till after they've died. Most of the time, you die fighting for what you believe in. You could be protesting something this very moment and it have no significance until 2090.

It made me feel discouraged, like hope no longer existed if you could promote something life-changing, but a healthy change, and it not even succeed in your lifetime. Is that enough reason to give in and let life be as is?

What would have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't show up to the March on Washington in 1963, where he delivered his "I have a dream" speech. Any man, woman, or child from the Atlantic slave trade would have never imagined a Free land. I am not saying everything happens for a reason, I am saying we make that reason. After all, it is up to ourselves to educate one another and bring peace in the world.

So I say, there is hope. There's hope for the future because there's always the opportunity for one person to make a sincere difference even when the odds are high. Don't give up on what you believe in, whether it happens now, or later. Every move you make and every comment you speak impacts our nation, changes those around you,  and it could either hurt us, or help us. The future is in your hands.

6 comments:

  1. Oh, I think even if something doesn’t happen until 2090 it’s still worth doing. In fact, if what you do still makes a difference that far into the future, it’s pretty amazing. But, even if it makes no difference at all, one has go to try. Can’t just sit by and do nothing. Change won’t happen like that.
    The enigmatic, masked blogger

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  2. I can only agree with TBFKA. It is the excuse of the weak to say `what`s the point?`
    Change is good and good is change!
    J
    Follow me @ Hedgeland Tales
    (You know you want to!)

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  3. Exactly! I'm glad you guys understood the message I was trying to send :-)

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  4. Not to be "that guy", but "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution. Also, the only guarantees are Life and Liberty. Happiness is not guaranteed; only its pursuit. And like Life and Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness is ONLY allowed within the limits of the Law. So it might make people happy to smoke or consume marijuana recreationally, but it is still illegal. Matter of fact, there are a lot of things Americans mistakenly refer to as "rights" that are, in fact, privileges given to them under the Law, such as driving, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, owning businesses, etc.

    Also, it's hard to argue the government "took away our freedom" for something we didn't have the privilege of doing in the first place.

    I say all this, not to be argumentative (I'm not, honestly), but to provide a valid counterpoint. Personally I had no qualms with Prop 19--it doesn't concern me personally. I just wanted to point out some facts that might be relevant.

    Aside from that, though, you bring up a great point: that sometimes it takes patience and perseverance to get things done. IMO, change NEVER happens fast. It only happens fast to people who weren't paying attention. Change--real change--takes time. It takes someone realizing that a goal is not something you get from a vending machine. You have to save up for it, and have the discipline to see it through. Often you have to compromise along the way. You get a little here, get a little there, a step forward, a step back, etc. But eventually, you get there. Maybe along the way you learn that the goal you were striving for isn't really your objective, and it alters a bit, or you alter a bit. But the bottom line is that no one gets anything by demanding it. You work hard. You keep at it. You grow. And one day, you look up, and you're there.

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  5. Thank you so much, Martin, for correcting my mistakes in a kind matter. I appreciate it.

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  6. Gotta try extra hard to be friendly in text. Things rarely come across the right way online. One of the perils of not communicating face to face, I suppose. For future reference, always assume anything I say has a certain amount of light-heartedness included. I have a hard time being serious for more than a 30 second stretch. :)

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