Legal Marijuana + Tax

Looking at the news on cnn.com and nytimes.com this week, i couldn't help but notice the lengths states are going to in order to boost the economy and be more successful. A story that caught my eye, for example, were the eliminating of the death penalty in Maryland to cut costs. The article says that to cut down criminal justice costs the repeal of the death penalty is a good idea, however, critics of this action say, "At a time when police departments are being scaled down to save money, the role of the death penalty in deterring certain crimes is more important than ever." I thought it was incredibly interesting that this method of cutting costs would be put into effect. Would eliminating the death penalty increase crime in Maryland? Would it stay the same? I guess we won't know until Maryland puts this into effect. In times of poverty and crisis such as these, people are jobless and cutting back on expenses significantly. I did not ever consider, until this article, that states would be inclined to do so as well. The other article I read talked about California considering legalizing and taxing marijuana to boost the economy and bring in money. In doing this, California as a state would have legal costs cut by almost a billion dollars a year and an approximate 1.3 billion dollars would be brought in off the tax. I found this method of improving the economy to be very "out there" and new, but in watching the news clip, I think it could work. It is so interesting what great lengths we as individual states will go to when there is so much poverty and problems. In times of crisis like this with no sight of improvement, society has to act. This sure is an action, and if California decides to enforce it, there could be good effects, but in return, possibly detrimental effects to the health of society and overuse, which is what drug policy advisors have advocated. There are so many measures and extremes, not limited to these two articles, that states and the government have attempted to regain strength. But will these relatively new ideas really help the economy and society in the end? 

The other night I was with my tutor and we got to talking about my junior theme. I mentioned I was doing it on the topic of African American identity, double consciousness and shaping identity in changing times of American history. He then got to talking about how when he lived in Mississippi the Ku Klux Klan lynched a black man in his front yard, and when they woke up the next morning his mom went out and caught sight of it. The shock stunned her and he said she was never the same. They moved the next year. Its so incredible to me how in 1958-only 50 years ago-things like this were occuring and it was not out of the ordinary. I was shocked to hear this story, and my tutor even further told me that he had witnessed beatings from a distance and essentially grew up in the environment. He is definitely not okay with it and never was, but how could he stand by? I mean, there wasn't much he could do to stop it, but NOTHING was done. And all this just 50 years ago! Racism is so recent to our country's history it is baffling.

The other thing I connected our unit to was a movie I watched last night, The Secret Life of Bees with Dakota Fanning. The movie takes place in the rural south and exemplifies so much having to do with white supremacy. The nanny of the house, an African American named Rosalene, decides that she wants to vote. When she walks down to the town to do so, she is malled by white men and shoved to the ground and spit on. Her head get busted open and she is taken to jail. Her white boss is so embaressed, he won't even come bail her out. The main character, Dakota Fanning, runs away from home for other reasons and decides to take Rosalene with her. They end up at a bee farm owned by three black women. These women put a black Virgin Mary on their honey, which Dakota Fanning, a white girl, is very surprised about. Though I haven't finished the movie, Fanning proves to be a white citizen who goes against the norm, willing to save Rosalene from jail and openly speak out against the violations of the Civil Rights Act. The movie has a really strong connection to the time period we are currently learning about, that is the time in which black men and women are freed, and trying to figure out what to do with this freedom especially because there is most definitely still prejudice.  A quote from the movie is, "It's so ironic how much white people hate us, when most of them were raised by Negro women." This statement is so true. The women who were around for their childhood, who helped them create who they were and come into their own, were black women. And this is how they are treated? 

Infomercials...Really?

If I watch or listen to one more bow-flex, ab cruncher, proactive or vegetable dicer commercial I just might call into that one eight hundred number myself and give them a talking to. Infomercials are always trying to persuade you to buy their product by giving "facts" that are not always valid. Who really knows if one will have automatic smooth, clear skin or rock solid, bulging abs if they buy a certain product. The fact is, no one certain product can magically transform a part of your body and honestly, I highly doubt the cut macho-man demonstrating the equipment ONLY used the bow-flex to create his toned biceps. The same goes for food processors and other convenient supplies for your house. Sure, many of them can make tasks more efficient, but its not like the object is going to make a persons life immensely easier. Your life won't be "complete" if you buy airwick for three easy payments of $12.99. These products are romanticized to be so much better than they really are, leaving Americans with the perception that being consumers and buying a company's product will ultimately help the buyer with what they need instantly. The reality of the effects of the products is not what it is portrayed as in these commercials. Their idealistic approach of promises that are not necessarily going to be fulfilled makes the product unreliable in a sense. Will a bow-flex make you look like a  bodybuilder? Most likely not. Will you magically have diced tomatoes the instant you press a button on a kitchen appliance? Who knows. Does proactive or a weed-wacker make everything in your life suddenly make sense and bring you instant happiness? Doubtful. The point is, infomercials are a hyped up marketing technique.

Rebellion and Civil War

When reading The Wall Street Journal today, I came across an article discussing the civil unrest in Sri Lanka and the rebellions that have taken place there since the 1970s. The country has been secularized and there has been discrimination against certain groups, mainly the Tamil, that has increased tension. Currently they are working to find the "Tiger" or Tamil group leader in the jungle and end this war that has killed tens of thousands of people. Civilians are looking to the government to exert their power over the land and end this war. The civil war in Sri Lanka connects to our agency and oppression unit because of its connection to the civil war in America. When a country becomes secularized and divided, tension and aggression rises and discrimination becomes more prominent. 

Differences in opinions of large issues causes unrest...and ultimately the dire need for a solution. America was fighting over westward expansion of slavery and the ultimate idea of slavery. The south made a statement to succeed from the Union. And now, the Tamil group in Sri Lanka is making a statement to not be discriminated against. However, the tactic behind how they choose to handle the situation is with violence, and that needs to end. The "Tigers" or the Tamil group have opened fire at hospitals, bombed territories and killed innocent civilians because of deeper anger that has lasted for over a quarter of a century. This current event really goes to show that modern day societies have the many of the same deep-rooted issues that need to be solved or war and violence will break out as what they believe is an immediate answer.