Popular Culture Will Lead You Away From a Meaningful Life: Part 2
I started smoking pot at age 14. I wish my story was different but there you go. It was one of many poor choices that negatively impacted my life for years.
Today, our culture tells us that it's normal to smoke or eat edibles with THC. It must be normal; there are cannabis stores in every town I see; (14 within 30 minutes of my home) large cities, small cities and small towns. I live in a small town where apparently a cannabis store is planned. I'm not surprised; only that it took this long.
But now the smell of cannabis is everywhere. I was sitting outside the cafe I'm now writing in, with a friend and we could hardly breath the smell was so strong.
In high school I had friends go to jail for possession and trafficking pot and the only shopping was in the student parking lot. We've come a long way. Hey, I'm all for decriminalizing pot, but not for legalizing it. Certainly not for normalizing it or encouraging it.
The long-term damage of marijuana doesn't get much attention, does it?
Culture normalizes what we never would, on our own.
Politicians will look into a camera and tell us they care about our health so they are legalizing marijuana...you know, so they can be sure we take drugs in a controlled, managed way. Buying pot from a store is safe compared to buying off the street.
Sure. Okay. But do you trust a government that sells alcohol and pot, and drivers licenses? Do you really think they have our best interests at heart?
That's the same logic we're given for why highway speed limits are increased. In my area they just went up to 110km/h on major roads.
Why?
To reduce travel times. If we need to get where we're going faster, why not 120 or 150. Wouldn't that save us more time?
Call me cynical, but for me the only reason the government raised our highway speeds is so we will burn more fuel. More fuel, more gas. More gas, more taxes.
Disregard the fact that raising the speed limit 10km/h will result in a 12-15% increase in accidents and fatalities.
The government is sacrificing us for more money. It's naive to assume they haven't made the calculations. They know.
Improve the flow of commerce...you know, we need our stuff faster. So lets have tractor trailers going even faster on our roads. Truck drivers use to be the best drivers on the road. Now I avoid them as much as possible, especially on my motorcycle.
But productivity doesn't wait for anyone.
The speed limit increase is a cultural shift, make no mistake.
Where Are Your Values?
In the past year, our PM stated publicly that Muslim values are Canadian values.
I'm sorry but I would have to disagree. But you have to admit that statement is a commentary on our culture; and a decided shift in crafting it to look different from what it has been.
I'm all for legal immigration and celebrating various cultures; I love that. But to embrace the values of a particular culture, religion and way of life sounds a bit reckless.
I'm all for values. Our family created our own "Family Values" when our kids were young and they guided us well.
But whether it be drugs, speed limits or foreign cultures, it seems to that those in leadership are doing all they can to craft, shift and change our culture.
I believe the primary role of government should be to protect our borders, protect our citizens and protect our constitution. Beyond that, well, I would suggest they usually get it wrong. In fact, I'm not so sure they're getting the protection part right.
I apologize for the political nature of this post. For the most part, I refrain from making public statements, and I tire of listening to the plethora of opinions that clog up my social feeds.
But the reality is, whether it's entertainment, sports, advertising or governments, they all influence our culture, and in my humble opinion, if we're not careful, lead us away from a meaningful life.
I'll say it again...Popular culture wants some thing from you; it doesn't want what's best for you; and it will most certainly lead you away from a meaningful life.
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 1:1-2
We'll explore meaning and where it comes from, next time.
Until then - Dan