Monday Morning Musings

Happy President's Day. I almost forgot it was a holiday. I liked it better when we celebrated Washington's birthday and Lincoln's birthday on separate days. It gave us an opportunity to remember the contributions each made to our country. Here are some interesting facts about George Washington.

Now that the frigid weather has gone away here in Texas, I took the opportunity to get my plants out for some fresh air and sunshine. My daughter and her husband came to help with that and some other chores, and we had a great time working together. Even my dog, Poppy, wanted to help.

These are only a few of the plants that "wintered" in my sun room.

Two big debates are going on in Texas right now - legalizing marijuana and the fallout from the Missouri football player, Michael Sam, stepping out of the closet. Dale Hansen, a Dallas sports announcer, came out in his own way in support of Michael Sam, defending the young man's right to play ball and not be banned because of his sexuality.

Response to Hansen was immediate and viral, with a mix of positive and negative. What bothers me is the tone of the negatives, spoken or written with strong does of "disgust" and "fear". One letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News asked how Hansen, a heterosexual, might feel "in the shower with a homosexual man."

I guess that is a fair question if you think every gay man is always looking for the next sexual encounter. But wouldn't the football players have a lot more on their minds than that?

The fear and disgust associated with homosexuality have influenced public thinking for centuries, and it is past time for the focus to stop being on sexual intimacy. I don't care what gay men and gay women do behind their bedroom doors, nor do I care what straight men and women do. Maybe if we stop obsessing about that, we will discover we have nothing to fear from our gay neighbors or coworkers.

Regarding the "Reefer Madness", Mark Davis, a Dallas Morning News columnist came out strong against legalizing marijuana, challenging readers to name one, just one, "societal benefit" that could come from legalization. The readers didn't disappoint and here are just a few:

Legal markets eliminate the violence associated with the illegal sale of drugs.
Legal markets could be controlled for safety.
Legal markets generate tax revenue.
Legal markets greatly reduce prison populations and allow police to focus on more serious crimes.

And I will add one of my own. Legal markets make it easier for people to purchase marijuana for medicinal purposes. People I know who have suffered terribly during cancer treatment were forced to break the law for relief. That should not have to happen.

What do you think about legalizing the sale of marijuana? Did you know it is not as addictive as alcohol? The Committee on Drugs ranked marijuana 8th.  on the list of most dangerous drugs. More facts can be found via the Drug Policy Forum of Texas.

Uncommon Decency

A teenager wrote a letter to the Dallas Morning News recently defending the crassness of the new movie, "The Hangover". She wrote, "In today's American society, which is anything but conservative, it takes more than a dry innuendo to stir up a laugh. Vulgarity is natural and expected. If people are offended, they can choose to stay home."

Not long afterward, David Brooks wrote a column titled In Search of Dignity. He was referencing the code established by George Washington that was comprised of a list of 110 "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation."

Among the many edicts in Washington's code were commands to "endeavor to put national interests above personal interests, never degrade intimate emotions by parading them in public, and to distrust rashness, zealotry, fury and political enthusiasm."

It's not surprising that the teen who wrote that letter hadn't heard of Washington's code. It is all but forgotten in modern society, and we are much poorer as a result. And I do mean that literally. We are a morally bankrupt society, and that debases us on all levels.

Anyone who doesn't believe that the current global financial problems were caused as much by greed as economic factors, raise your hand.

Anyone who doesn't believe that the increase in teen pregnancies is caused in part by a proliferation of movies and television shows that present sex as just another "game" to be enjoyed, raise your hand.

Anyone who doesn't believe that politicians care more about their party and re-election than the good of the people, raise your hand.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I lament the fact that we no longer have a general consensus of right and wrong, civil discourse, or a sense of what is proper behavior in public. As David Brooks put it in his recent column, "Americans still admire dignity, but the word has become unmoored from any larger set of rules or ethical system."

Someone get a rope and tie us back up.