Religion

     Ok, before I start, I want to point out that I am an Atheist. I have not always been an atheist, I was brought up going to church every Sunday with my father, until the age of about 10 (mostly due to the fact that I thought getting up at half 8 on a Sunday was a jip). I can't remember if I even believed that there was a God. I'm not going to lie, I did like going to church and Sunday school, but for the stories and the singing, not for the worship. By the time I was around 13, I was agnostic, mostly due to the fact that my father and his parents are Christian, so I suppose it was a way of keeping them happy, even though I never spoke outright that I wasn't sure if there was a God or not. By the time I was 18, I had made up my mind, and came to the conclusion that there is no God. Before I proceed, I have little problem with religious people, people can believe what they want to believe, just as the fact that I believe that the big bang happened, does not mean that this is the definite truth, but in my eyes, this is the closest we have at the moment.

     The thing that get on my nerves about some religious people is that they totally discredit scientific evidence that we have evolved from monkeys. These people have no problem in believing that fire occurs when a fuel, oxygen and heat come together, or that oil cannot be mixed with water, due to very different properties of the two substances, yet, when it comes to the theory of evolution, they totally discredit it. There are fossils to show that we have gradually evolved from monkeys, yet we still get the phrases "why are there fossils missing between this humanoid and this humanoid?" and "If we all evolve, then why has things like the crocodile not changed for millions of years?" Well, how about if we just look at the history of humans that we definitely know from history records. Ok, we haven't evolved in terms of personal appearance, but when you think how our society works today, and our intelligence today, it is a lot different from a little as 500 years ago.

     And what the hell is the thing with the church not accepting homosexual individuals? Correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge, there is nothing in the bible that definitely states that you must hate homosexuals in order for you to get into heaven, and that if you are one, your not going to heaven. Now, I HAVE seen in the bible specifics where it is fine for a man to rape your daughter in order for yourself to be saved from debt, and also that it is perfectly acceptable to have slaves, yet no Christian ever mentions these thing, nor practice them (one would hope). 

     It's those who pick and choose what to believe from the bible that also makes me wonder why they even believe in the religion. If your going to believe in something, then you can't pick and choose what to believe, otherwise, surely, your going against the teachings of God, and will go to hell?

     I am currently studying evolutionary psychology in University, and although my Dad knows about it, it is not mentioned between us, as he does not think that this is true. Ok, I'm not saying that every single thing that is written down in a evolutionary psychology book is absolutely correct, but within everyday life, there is evidence to show that this maybe the case. We have a tail bone, but no tail, some people have genetic mutations, and end up with horns or tails growing. If we were 'made', then surely we wouldn't see these kinds of genetic mutations occurring.

     There is NO proof that God, or any other sort of higher being existing, whereas there is SOME evidence to suggests that we have evolved. How can you totally disregard these scientific facts when you rely on so many others? 

     Yes, I suppose it is a nice thought to think that there is an entity in the sky that has made us in his/her image, and looks over us, and so on, but I genuinely think that religion is just a comfort blanket to those who cannot come to grips with the fact that we are (possibly) alone in the universe, life has no real purpose, and that when we die, we just merely cease to exist. Depressing, I know, but that's why you have to make the most of your life, not waste it worshipping some entity that may not even exist.

   

     

Drink

     Within our society today, binge drinking is seen as something that encapsulates our generation of youths and young people. It is fairly common sense that this is not a good look for our country, as it makes us out to be good for nothing people that have no thought for anyone else. Needless to say, the government sees extreme binge drinking as a severely damaging social and cultural aspect to the country, yet, it is well in their power to decrease this growing problem.

     I was on my way back to the city where my University is from my home, and as I can never eat breakfast at 7 in the morning, so the fact that it had gone 9, and I hadn't eaten, I walked into a McDonald's, to get some food. I'm not really fussed on the breakfast menu in McDonald's, so I asked for a Happy Meal, before realising that they don't start serving them until half 10. This then triggered something in my head. I had just walked past a chain pub and restaurant, silently judging those who were already taking a sip of their first pint of the morning. 

     It is a sad day when you realise that some establishments will serve you alcohol at 9 in the morning, but you have to wait until half 10 for a Happy Meal.

     I'd imagine those who are hovering around the bar at 20 to 9 in the morning already have an alcohol problem, but surely offering alcohol that early in the morning can only lead to more people developing these problems. As most people start work at 9 in the morning, I would expect these people wouldn't allow themselves to be a little late for work, just to get in a quick half pint before work. However, imagine if the serving time of alcohol was changed to only half an hour earlier, how many people would we see in the pubs in the morning having a pint instead of a cup of tea and toast?

     As a student, cheap drinks when I am out is all well and good, as for me this term, money hasn't even stretched far enough for me to buy enough food, let alone any "luxuries". Anyway, There is one place that I frequent quite often, and on a particular night, drinks are insanely cheap. I can buy a double of any spirit with a mixer for about £1.60. I have been to other places, usually on a Saturday night, and I've paid more than £6 for the sane drink. Although I think £6 is extortionate, no matter how many times I go to my usual place, I'm still slightly taken aback when paying for my first drink, that it is so cheap.

     For people like myself, I see the nights where drinks are ridiculously cheap as a way of saving money, I'd take 10, maybe 15 pounds out with me when drinks are that cheap, and that money would be for my takeaway and taxi home too. However, others see it as an excuse to spend just as much money as they would if they were paying twice as much for a drink, so that they can get even more drunk.This is the problem with these sorts of deals. I'm not Miss Angel here either, I have been too drunk in the past, but whereas I can count all of those times on my two hands, other people are too drunk every night they go out, and I personally think that the early opening times, late closing times and cheap drinks are at least partially to blame. 

     There is another establishment where I live when I am at University that offer any drinks (single shots) for 99p. Now, where I can't seem to buy a bottle of pop anywhere nowadays for anything less than £1, to buy an alcoholic drink that is cheaper makes little sense to me. Thinking back, I have been in a pub with my family before whist having Sunday dinner. I had a lager with my food, and then had a lemonade afterwards. In the same pub, I only paid 20p less for a lemonade than a lager, and when I came back to the table, my parents said "oh, well you may as well had another drink". In my opinion, soft drinks need to be at least half the amount of the cheapest alcoholic drink, apart from the fact that I know that from one syrup box used to make the drinks, that costs about £5, then can get about 100 cups of drink from, so charging £1 for a soft drink would still give them huge amounts of profit.

     The fact that the government goes on about binge drinking, and that binge drinking is commonly on the news and documented in television shows, in reality, the government isn't all that caring about it. The fact that it is them who allow for establishments to sell such cheap drinks, serve them for 9 in the morning until up to 4 or 5 in the morning in some other places, is just a clever, but malicious way of generating more revenue.   

Drugs

     So we all know that certain drugs are bad for us, and even those designed for medicinal purposes can cause fatalities. However, one thing that still puzzles me, is why alcohol and nicotine is legal for those 18 of over within the UK, but any other 'bad' drug is illegal.
     It is medically proven that alcohol and nicotine are some of, if not, THE most addictive and damaging drugs that are available, yet these are the ones the government allow us to use. Before I get into this, I am not condoning the use of drugs, I just think that the laws against drugs are ridiculous, and need to be adjusted. Seriously, any grown person with half a brain knows that any amount of any drug is bad for you, so why is there a need for laws against them? Yes, there should be laws against selling minors drugs, just as the law is for alcohol and nicotine, but if you can't get to adulthood, and not realise that shooting speed into your body with a needle that somebody else has used is a totally stupid idea, then its your lookout. If you think that it is perfectly fine to do so, then do so.
     I know that the laws are there to limit the amount of drugs that are available on the street, but lets face it, how many people do you know who want to take drugs say "Oh, actually, I'm not going to take those drugs because the government tells me not to".
     Yes, you could say that the laws are in place because drugs ruins lives, families friendships, and so on.....but when has alcohol never been associated with violence, theft, rape, murder? You can't pick and choose what can and cannot be legal, just because alcohol and nicotine brings in so much revenue for a country.
     As a fairly frequent drinker, personally, I don't see anything wrong with drinking, but only in small amounts, and to an extent, it is only suited to a small number of people, but alas, we cannot divide the country and say "Well, you can't drink because you beat your wife, therefore drinking may make it worse".
     There is a big debate on whether cannabis is a safe drug to use, and whether it should be used for cancer patents to cope with pain and while undergoing chemotherapy. I have researched a lot into cannabis, partly due to my academic studies, partly out of personal interest, and compared to alcohol and nicotine, it is pretty harmless. OK, I'm not going to be the person who says "Oh yes, taking cannabis is totally safe", because it's not. Lots of research has found that those who are heavy users of the drug for prolonged periods of time are more likely to develop illnesses such as severe paranoia and schizophrenia. Yes, I would agree with this, but this does not mean that everyone will end up like this. Those who develop these disorders may already be pre-disposed to them, therefore we can never put these kinds of findings primarily down to the drug.
     Due to the incredible stubbornness and overly politically correct world that we live in, I hardly think that the laws of drugs is ever going to change. Even more depressing, is that although alcohol kills around 15,000 people in the UK alone, due to the money it brings in, we are never going to see another prohibition.