Thoughts on Causes

I'm quite politically aware and you haven't picked up on that, you're not paying attention. As such I support various causes, some of which I'll talk about today. I must admit to feeling a little out of my depth right now. I recently had a friend read my posts and in her feedback she aptly demonstrated (perhaps without meaning to) that there are people who can unconsciously write circles around me. It's one thing knowing such a fact, but another one entirely to witness it.

Getting back to causes I support the first I want to talk about is Palestine. I know I should try to be more upbeat after yesterday's post, but this is a cause that's too important for me to leave out. It's a bit shameful for me considering the role Britain played in creating the State of Israel which is currently occupying what is Palestine and always has been Palestine. The British controlled the land for a while and when tensions rose between the natives Arab population and the migrant Jewish population, Britain couldn't have left quicker. I support a two-state solution along the 1967 borders with a Palestinian state consisting of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Sadly I do not see such a solution happening anytime soon with fanatics like Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu calling the shots on both sides. American intervention won't help because Israel is more likely to condemn Israel before America does. Still, Free Palestine!

The second cause I wish to mention is British republicanism. Now in America a republican is a member of the "centre-right" political party who's members are extremely diverse, ranging from the boneheads to the brain-dead to the bat-shit. I am not a republican in the American sense of the word. In Britain a republican is someone who wants to replace the monarch with an elected head of state. My support for republicanism started with a simple premise. Monarchs rule by divine right, I am an atheist, I don't believe in anything divine. Therefore I do not believe in a monarch's right to rule. At first this was all there was to my republicanism and then I decided to read more about the whole cause. The idea that someone is above me because they happened to be born into a certain family is just plain wrong in this day and age. The Queen seems like a nice enough lady and I'm sure if she were to run in an election, she'd get many votes. The problem is she didn't get any votes. It's undemocratic and out of place in the 21st century.

The last cause is one that will lighten the mood. That's what it does. I support the legalisation of marijuana. It has proven health benefits, it makes social interactions much easier for introverted people like myself and the worst thing it'll do is make you tired. Not to mention simply how many people are in prison over something that at the end of the day is only illegal because the paper industry didn't want to lose money. It's also not often one gets to say "North Korea has got this one right", but I'll say it now. North Korea has got this one right. Legalise it!

Well that'll do for now, as always a massive thank you for reading and if you want me to write about a specific topic, please tell me. I'm on Facebook (Steven Rowing) and twitter (@steviestevesgr)

Steven