Three Important News Items

12/21/2006 12:38:16 AM (It's tomorrow, already)

by Glenn C. Koenig

Over the past few weeks, I have been watching. Three things caught my eye. They are:

1. Records kept in Germany over the past 60 years or so, detailing the millions of people killed there during the second world war, in the camps, are now being made available to the public for the first time.

2. Recent research shows that it's likely that 95% of people in the US have sex prior to getting married.

3. According to one estimate, hemp (marijuana) is the biggest cash crop in the US, with revenues exceeding that of wheat, oats, rice, corn, or any other crop grown here.

To me, these things are causing a fundamental shift in the debate that has continued for years around these topics. Together, they indicate to me that some major fallacies that have been carried along in society are now falling. Others are bound to fall with them or after them. To you, they might seem to have little to do with each other. But to me, they are part of a bigger picture of change in culture and society now taking place around the world.

1. The first is related to the assertion by certain people that "the holocaust never happened." As recently as last week (12 December 2006), there was a meeting in Austria where participants held this view. But clearly, the archives, with documents in the original hand writing of those who captured and "processed" the victims are undeniable evidence, in my opinion, that puts that argument to rest. Of course, there will still be a few people who will still maintain that it never happened, but for any observant, open minded person, the evidence is there.

The lesson here is that humanity is capable of terrible things. Our mission should perhaps be to understand what came before the Holocaust, in the decades leading up to that time, order to better understand its roots. One man did not make this happen alone. There is something about how we work, as humans, ... what makes us all tick, that needs to be investigated further and faced. It's not like it hasn't happened again. It's happening today in Africa, the middle east, and so on.

2. The second piece of news clearly shines a light on a great hypocrisy. If almost everyone has had sex prior to getting married, then I say let's deal with it, not pretend that it doesn't happen or that we should teach young people to 'abstain' from sex until married. How absurd! These days, people reach puberty in their early to mid teens. And the average age of marriage is a good ten to fifteen years later? Hello? Almost no one is going to wait ten to fifteen years or more while their hormones are flowing freely.

So let's get real. We have a great challenge on our hands. That is to help bring young people into their sexuality with love, caring, and honesty. We need to admit how we really live and help them understand the power and wonder and risks of what they're experiencing. I hope we adopt better ways to teach them how to take good care of themselves and others in the inevitable sexual encounters and activity in which they will likely participate.

3. The third piece of news goes one step further in exposing what a tragic waste our current prohibition really is. It is well past time to turn the tide of what is essentially a 'cultural struggle' (which is what prohibition always seems to be, actually) and make sweeping changes in our drug laws. Essentially, our nation's 'drug war' is a colossal failure and should be stopped as soon as possible.

In a way, the same challenge that faces us regarding our sexuality is also the challenge here. That is, how can we better teach each other to examine the options that drugs of all kinds present to us? How can we help every person love and respect themselves enough to take the trouble to inform themselves of the risks and benefits that drugs represent? OK, we will never be able to do this 'perfectly' (however you might define perfect), but I believe that this is where our effort belongs, not with police, courts, jail, and ruined lives.

In the long run, I believe, very strongly, that we are on the path to make these changes. It is only a matter of time, now. Sure, there is a lot of work to be done. We are going to have to make these changes and it won't be easy. But I believe that we will make them. There is no turning back. These three news items are another step in the process. I look forward to more.

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