LostinSpace

August 17  BDay pets:

AntiBinge

Big_Pumba1

Blawkour

Meithi

Punk_harlow

Roob7

RooSe4

Seklin

Spekon

TootyFruity216216

Tuffyb

___Gelerta___

aSnowBird

blue5778

bruce_azul__50

coco7109

mario_bros__84

revenege94

sunnydayx

super_orelhao

tiquetaque

tumbele

tyy_2

Amy2005049

Awesome!  Games master challenge is back!  I am always happy the first day or two, then it ticks me off.  Thank goodness for AoB this year!

Aww. With my one vote, now I can't be part of the club

Yeah, sorry dude.  Next time.  Hey, it gives you something to strive for.  LOL

Just for argument's sake (Since this is debate section), should murder be legal? Or rape? Those laws "restrict" people from what they may want to do, to protect other's rights. With smoking, there are millions of papers showing the harm of 2nd hand smoke, and papers are even starting to rise showing 3rd hand smoke can be nearly as detrimental. Where do we draw the line between individual rights and rights of others/public at large?

I understand your point about the line between individual and group rights; however, this town isn't trying to outlaw smoking (although I suspect that would be next on the list), they are trying to ban buying and selling cigarettes.  And the purchase and sale of tobacco has not harmed anyone.  Why should this be turned into a legal matter at all?  As Americans, we give away our rights one tiny piece at a time.  It doesn't hurt much when we do it that way, but it all adds up.  Someone shoots up a school, next thing you know, people want to outlaw guns.  I am just not ready to give up my rights because of a stupid person committing an illegal act.  

Murder and rape both involve harming another person with intent.  Buying and selling cigarettes does not.  Even smoking does not.  Noone ever walked into a school and smoked a classroom to death.  The intent isn't there.  The "crimes" can't be lumped into one pile.  A cigarette isn't a weapon.  A bottle of liquor isn't a weapon.  Can they both kill?  Of course.  So can cars, and ropes, and knives, and bowling balls.  We can't outlaw all these things just because a few people are irresponsible.   

Didn't want to study anymore so I wrote some shit. Discuss it.  

 

          In order for us, as a species, to survive, we need to figure out how to embrace each other as brothers and sisters and stop getting into pissing contests. Life is too short to spend it killing each other. On a more personal level, we need to stop being so angry, stop taking advantage of each other, stop being cruel. There is no time for that. We need to love. Love is the key to success in life. Love is your ability to take all the beauty around you, absorb it, use it, add to it, and then send it back into the world. But what is beauty? Beauty is positivity, creativity, hope. Trees are beautiful because they sustain and encourage growth, books are beautiful because of the effort put into writing them, a smile is beautiful because it comforts and spreads happiness. War is not beautiful, but imagine an Israeli soldier gets hit by shrapnel and is injured, unable to move and help himself. A Palestinian citizen leaves the safety of her home to bring him inside and tend to him, this is beautiful. This act instills hope, reminding people that tomorrow can be a better day, if we make it so.

          If there is beauty, it must have an opposite, like hate is for love. So what is its opposite? Ugliness, but now there is an important distinction that we need to make. Is ugliness a concealer of beauty, or is it the absence of it? If ugliness is concealing beauty, that means that ugly events have some beauty in them, and it is our job to uncover them and appreciate what can be born from ugliness. However, if ugliness is the absence of beauty, then what is there to do? If this is true, there is nothing redeemable about any ugly act. Take the holocaust- certainly an ugly act. Now, is there some hidden beauty (something good that came of it?) or was it just pure ugliness? And if it was pure ugliness, then there are in fact evil acts. Evil acts can be defined as malicious actions perpetrated by knowledgeable parties. By knowledgeable we mean that these persons knowingly hurt other people with the intent of solely benefitting themselves or their accomplices. An ignorant act is not an evil act because the perpetrator was not malicious in his intent. Evil acts and evil people have no place in this world. The enron scandal was an evil act, as was the holocaust, as is rape. Not all war is evil though, especially when an oppressed people are fighting for freedom. So if ugliness is the absence of beauty, can beauty still emerge? Yes, but not the same as if it was concealed, instead of being uncovered it will have to be born, in spite of the ugliness. This takes considerably more effort. 

Awesome post!  I like your description of beauty as objects to aspire to: positivity, creativity, and hope.  Ugly, to be its opposite, would be infused with negativity, destruction, and corruption.  Love would seem to be an act of beauty, and hate or evil, an act of ugly.  I suppose there could be truly evil acts, like the holocaust, but I think most acts can not be described in such simplistic terms.  The holocaust, for example, consisted of many atrocities by many people.  Some were motivated by hate, some by evil, some by fear, some by ignorance.  Some of those acts, despite their consequences, could not be construed as evil or ugly.  They were cowards, maybe, but not evil.  Also during the holocaust were multiple instances of beauty, bravery, and hope.  People on the wrong side of the flag risking their lives, and the lives of their families, to ease someone else's suffering.  The holocaust was an event that cannot be considered evil in and of itself.  It was simply an event, set in motion by an ugly person, and maintained by ignorance, cowardice, and fear.      

@Napiform Oh yeah!!

I used to live in Michigan, where Dr. Kevorkian kept being tried for murder when he assisted with suicide for terminally ill patients.  After the third or fourth trial, they finally got a jury to convict him.  What a shame, to do this to a man trying to ease people's pain.  Dying is such a personal thing that everyone must do alone.  How they choose to do this should be a personal decision.