cannabisnews.com: A Holiday Wish for Peace on Earth A Holiday Wish for Peace on Earth Posted by FoM on December 25, 2001 at 16:34:05 PT By Ann Landers Source: San Jose Mercury News Dear Readers: In 1955, the year I began writing this column, I wrote an essay for Christmas Day. The response was extremely rewarding, and I have reprinted it each year, with topical modifications. This is my Christmas message for 2001:Today is Christmas. What has happened to peace on Earth, goodwill toward men? In many parts of the world, there is no peace, and in the hearts of many, there is very little goodwill. The attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center are grim reminders that the world is no longer the safe and sane place we are accustomed to.Our youth insist that we are poisoning the environment, and they are right. They resent living in a world they didn't make, and who can blame them? But what generation ever made the world it had to live in?Although our universities are once again places of higher learning, racism still exists on many campuses. And despite the warnings, college students are still drinking too much, too often, with deadly results.The ``war on drugs'' has turned out to be a colossal failure. Most of the crime in our country is drug-related. While alcohol is still the most abused drug, marijuana and stronger substances, including cocaine and ecstasy, are commonplace in junior and senior high schools. Heroin is having a resurgence. The dropout rate is appalling. Why should a kid stay in school when he can get rich dealing drugs? Guns and knives are standard equipment among teenagers. It is not uncommon for a teenager to get shot or stabbed for a jacket or a pair of shoes. Our children are vulnerable even in their schools and places of worship. Suicide is the third most frequent cause of death in this country among teenagers and young adults ages 15 to 24. (The first is accidents.) Every 126 minutes, a young person under 24 in the United States will take his or her own life. The rate is worse for the elderly. Every 100 minutes, an older person will die by suicide.We are becoming increasingly desensitized to filthy language, garbage ``art'' and rotten stuff on TV. Violence, bigotry and filthy talk must be tolerated, we are told, because we dare not endanger ``freedom of speech.'' I am against censorship, but what has happened to everyday decency?After 46 years, I still find writing this column immensely rewarding. I realize that many people who write to me don't want advice. They just need someone who will listen.My column has provided me with an opportunity to shine a spotlight on ignorance and fear, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I am well aware that mine is an enormous responsibility, and I try hard, 365 days a year, never to let you down.You, dear readers, are my friends. You invite me into your homes, and often, we have breakfast together. I want to be there for you when you need me.So, if you feel the need to unburden yourself, blow your top, register a gripe or tell me off, I'm as close as your mailbox or your computer.God bless you all. I hope 2002 will be your best year ever.Write to Ann Landers in care of Features, the Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190.Published Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Author: Ann LandersPublished: Tuesday, December 25, 2001Copyright: 2001 San Jose Mercury News Contact: letters sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/Related Article:Drug War Doesn't Protect Kids http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10260.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by krutch on December 26, 2001 at 11:54:31 PT: She Got One Thing Right... That is:"The ``war on drugs'' has turned out to be a colossal failure"But she is delusional on many other points.Her first delusion is:"The attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center are grim reminders that the world is no longer the safe and sane place we are accustomed to."Anne, that place you were accustom to never really existed. If you did not have your head buried in your posterior your whole life you would have figured this out for yourself long before anyone bombed our buildings."Most of the crime in our country is drug-related. "Yes Anne,drug crusading idiots want you to believe this. I don't think it is true. Where did you get this data? Do you have a specific source or do you just blindly accept this as conventional "wisdom"?. I know of lots of horrendous crimes that have nothing to do with drugs. Alot of murders occur because sexual relationships go sour. Perhaps we should outlaw sexual relationships."Suicide is the third most frequent cause of death in this country among teenagers and young adults ages 15 to 24. (The first is accidents.) Every 126 minutes, a young person under 24 in the United States will take his or her own life. The rate is worse for the elderly. Every 100 minutes, an older person will die by suicide."The most frequent cause of death argument is a straw man. So what if suicide is the thrid most frequent cause of death among teenages. From a statistical stand point this means nothing. Teenages don't die from heart disease, lung cancer, and old age. It is no big suprise that things like accidents, murders, and suicides account for most of their deaths. What's the point? What is she whining about?On further reading we find that:"The rate is worse for the elderly. Every 100 minutes, an older person will die by suicide."Maybe this is because medical science is has advanced too far too fast. Modern treatments enable elderly people to live in utterly deteriorated conditions of mind body and spirit much longer than nature intended. Meanwhile we have not advanced our society's ability to care for the elderly. Take a look at the price managed care these days. The biggest delusion is:"My column has provided me with an opportunity to shine a spotlight on ignorance and fear, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."How pretentious. I have read her column for a long time. More often than not it shines a spotlight OF ingnorance and fear on issues. The above artical is an excellent example of fear mongering. It lists a slew of gripes backed up by ignorant analysis of meaningless statistics. Normally you have to go to a bowling alley to hear this kind of social analysis. It's time for Anne to retire. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by CorvallisEric on December 26, 2001 at 09:57:08 PT E_Johnson Amazing how much you said in a few words. And when I was a not-so-little boy, your statement would have been read without a second thought. In any case, Ann Landers has probably reached more of Middle America than half the reformers combined. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on December 26, 2001 at 02:22:17 PT Good old Ann When I was a little girl, she was one of the first liberals to argue in public that homosexuality should be treated as a sickness and not as a crime. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment