And your third propossssion, Gr Grapeful, is:
--<< So are as a society addicted to alcohol and gambling? An addict knows that it is in their best interests to stop, but continues with the same detrimental behaviour. Is that a fair description of our society>>
Here you sseem to be impplying we , our sssociety, iss addiccted to both of SSSatan’s little tempt-ationss …though it is a little hard to be shh sure right now . But if that be the cassse, if that be the case, you would be vilifying the whoooole group ooon account of the actionss of a few. Or, leastways, vivifying al-co-hol because a few are wont to get nasssty under itss influence … ..which does seen remi remi ..ah, akin to something you found objectionable somewhere else. ..though I can’t at this moment recall where … I’m ssshure it will come to me .

I did not know that the lack of alcohol in Muslim countries was entirely voluntary.

That would of course mean that they do not, or at least should not need to make laws aginst the importation, manufacture or retail of such things, should they?

Why is it that they do? Why is it that some of the countries with the harshest penalties for vice infringments (esp drug and alcohol related) happen to be Muslim, if it's not a problem and they have given it up voluntarily?

Dear grateful,

I gather from your posts that you look upon
alcohol, gambling, as a form of deviance.
You think society would be better off
without them.

Alcohol is a factor in
numerous traffic deaths and homicides each
year, and is implicated in thousands more
deaths arising from such causes as liver
damage and job accidents. I'm not sure of the
figures, they are proportionately high, of
how many Australians are compulsive alcoholics,
and the destructive effects of their addiction on
family life, human relationships, and the economy
are incalculable.

In spite of these widely known facts, alcohol
is still publicly used in the most
respectable circles. One reason that
alcohol is acceptable is that it is
a "traditional" drug, well entrenched in
our culture. The other factor is
that powerful economic interests benefit from
its continued consumption. Also an additional
reason is the social attitude towards a drug
depends more on who uses it than on what its
effects are. If the users of a drug are socially
disapproved and negatively labeled, so is the
drug - which is beginning to happen to tobacco.

In the past, marijuana use was associated with such
"disreputable" groups such as jazz musicians,
"hippies" and the rebellious young. The drug was
made illegal, through "moral entrepreneurs."
Barbiturates or amphetamines, for example, are
approved if prescribed to respectable people who
"need" them, but not if used by juveniles for
"kicks."

It's all relative, the same goes for gambling.
It all depends on who does it, whether its
acceptable or not.

Our society has given its citizens an
unprecedented degree of freedom, and is sometimes
confronted with the fact that some people abuse
that freedom. A society that places
greater emphasis on conformity to the rules - like
China, for example, tends to have less deviance,
though at the cost of personal freedom.

Freedom, implies choice, the exercise of choice
leads to differences; and one group's differences
soon become another group's deviance.

In this sense, deviance may just be a part of the
price that a free society pays for the liberty its
members enjoy.

Grateful, humans are like kids that never grow up, Because of our rebellious natures we will always want forbidden fruit. It is very hard to legislate for anything sensible because the grown up kids will find a way of getting around the law. The problem is not alcohol so much as it controls people. It has destroyed many of our first people as they have been reduced to begging for $2 in many of our Regional centres. Unfortunately we are not willing to forego our selfishness in order to help others. Dope smokers know that it leads to triggering Schizophrenia in many people but they only care if it happens to them. The Government is now reliant on pokies for income. Selfishness usually dominates peoples thinking. They are happy to bang on about the climate change myth because it does not affect them. Give them something practical where they can help society and they scream for their rigths.

All mind altering substances need to be banned including sex.Sex gives you a natural high and entices you to work harder get married ,have a mortage, children,spouse,be responsible,pay taxes,be a slave to corporate enterprises.Really there is no future in it.

Pure hedonism is the way to go. Self indulgent narcissism is the way to go.We all need to carry mirrors around and tell ourselves constantly how beautiful we are,in order to stave off poor self image.We should all aspire to a Kevin Rudd image of self importance.This is where the future lies with lobomised bureaucracy and the nervana of a UN executive position.Totally bubble wrapped and protected from reality.

In case you can't find me when you get there CJ Morgan, I'll be at the bubble-wrap party!