Why do we continue to put in laws that aim to protect people from themselves? Why do we have laws that say we cannot use drugs or own guns? The answer, you believe, is public safety, that people simply can't be trusted, but you are wrong. You are perpetuating a lie fed to you by not only yourself but those who want to control every aspect of your life. Think I am wrong? Why is it that you fear for other's or your own safety in the case of the two things I mentioned a second ago? Because you care for other people and don't want to get hurt.

Let me ask you something, if you force a drug addict into rehab 100 times, want to know how many times he will leave rehabilitated? Zero. The key word here is "force". It has to be that person's decision to quit using drugs, otherwise only a few things will happen: They will compare themselves to others (who both do and do not use drugs), make excuses for themselves, feel worse about the situation, and slip further into addiction. Not to mention it will hurt both the user, the family, and you more in the process. It has to be that person's choice to quit using, and making them feeling bad about using isn't going to make the situation better whether you think it will deter them or not. It only serves to isolate us as human beings ever the more and create more distrust, confusion, hate, disgust, animosity,and distract us from our real goals. So what if someone likes to drop acid on the weekend? So what if someone smokes a joint after work? Why should we be drug tested in order to get jobs? In order to protect the owner's business? If everybody were allowed to use drugs, they would all know what it looks like when somebody is high. If somebody showed up high at work, and is suspected of being high, then a field sobriety test along with a breathalyzer could be administered on the spot with 3 witnesses and you could lose your job right then and there. Now, you don't have to feel like a pathetic junkie if you indulge in dabbling in what the government has rather arbitrarily labeled as "illegal" because you can't be trusted to use it (alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are still cool though right?), and you have a reason not to be irresponsible with your use, because if you do, you will no longer be able to maintain a living.

If you are an employer and believe in drug screening your employees prior to hiring them and also believe that those on welfare should not be held to the same standard but receive a regularly battery of tests because they are receiving the money for free, then you need to either stop drug screening your employees or change your political views.

As for guns, or anything else that is "dangerous" for that matter. If everybody were allowed to own guns, then it would conceivably be much more difficult to go about robbing anybody or anyplace because the guy behind you might just do the right thing and pull his gun out and stop you... because it's the right thing to do. Is it true that some people are mentally disturbed and probably should be screened for mental illnesses or past *violent, financial, or psychological* criminal offenses before being allowed to purchase one? Of course. Is it true that someone could still have a screw pop loose and decide to shoot up a school? Absolutely. But what I also know is, if everybody else can have guns they might think another 12 times about it, and even if that doesn't stop them, your gun probably will.

So, what is the real reason we create all of these fear-based laws? It isn't because we care about people or because it is the right thing to do. Do not misread what I just said, and let me make it perfectly clear: I know that you DO in fact care about people and doing the right thing, but given that this is the case, why enact fear-based laws? They only serve to legitimize our fears and make them stronger, making them more real. The more we are afraid people will kill us all in a mall shoot up or some lunatic with a big knife goes around stabbing everybody, the more likely that is actually to happen. Think about it, people get the idea in the first place because they are driven to a point of isolation, chaos, and discontent that they have to scream out for attention and to scare people and make them hurt is the only way they know how to do it. If we take that away from ourselves, people can't do that to us anymore. We can choose to stop fearing other's doing the wrong thing, and choose that *we* will do the right thing.

And for the record, for those who like to insist that there is no true thing as "right" or "wrong", let me ask you something. Does "nothing" or "in-existence" possess the ability to affect the outcome of reality? If you answered no to this question, then you have just proven yourself wrong. Before someone points out that right and wrong are just human concepts, or labels, that we have given to something of which he hold value, then what is your name but a label for the bag of meat you claim? Do "you" not exist? You affect the outcome of reality, don't you? Well, I think I might have just made my point here. You see, we all know what right and wrong is, but somewhere down the line, we decide we have to do wrong to get what we want. The mind will do what it has to in order to survive. When you were a child, doing the right thing or the wrong thing held emotional consequences to it, didn't? Immediate ones. Much like your memories, they were very short term, but also very intense. When you knew you had done wrong, it felt intensely bad. Conversely, when you had done right, it felt intensely good. What happened? Somewhere along the line, in order to cope with the harshness of reality, you had to keep making the wrong decision, but you didn't want to feel the pain anymore. So, just like that, your brain removes your moral compass, and you now have to rely on logic alone to show you what is right or wrong. You no longer feel immediate "good" when you do right, or immediate "bad" if you do wrong. Instead, you think you feel nothing at all, but those feelings manifest themselves in different ways. They manifest themselves as anxiety, depression, uncertainty, fear, and negativity. You know you are guilty of committing many crimes, so you fear that others are too, and that others seek to commit these same crimes to you as you have done to them, or to hurt you or scare you.

But wait! This is a delusion! And it is bringing down the ENTIRE WORLD. It is what is making us go psychotic and to kill each other. It is what is making us fight wars. It is what is making us do the wrong things, and to stop caring about others, even the people we don't know. The truth is, some people can't get this, and never will, and they will hurt themselves and others. This is an unfortunate reality. But until we realize this, grow up, and decide to conduct ourselves with personal responsibility and have character and faith in each other to do the right thing, we will continue to pass fear-based laws and convince ourselves ever more that the human race isn't one worth saving, that we aren't worth the time. Personal freedom of choice and personal responsibility are the only way we can CHOOSE to do the right thing, because being forced to do the right thing is not a choice at all. Have you ever seen A Clockwork Orange? Ever heard of the Ludovico Technique? Alex was left powerless to choose between right or wrong, and so had lost the greatest gift humanity has ever received that separates it from the lesser beings of the universe: free will and conscious decision. If you deny your brothers and sisters this, what does that say what you think about them, and what they should think about themselves? I want you to think about that.