Really??!

“You aren’t going to believe it, Mom,” my son stated as he was fixing his snack at the kitchen counter.

“What?” I asked.

“I was in the store today, and a man and his wife started talking to me. They saw the logo on my t-shirt, I guess, and asked me if I was a fireman. I told them I was a volunteer, and working that direction.” 

I stopped what I was doing at the kitchen sink and looked over at him to see the seriousness of his facial expression. “Oh, they knew because of the MSA logo?” I asked speaking of the fireman logo on his shirt.  Logos are not only good advertisements, they are also good conversation starters!

“Yeah, I guess.  But it started us into quite a conversation.  They told me they moved out of California because of the drug problem in their area and because of the gang problem there. They were so discouraged,” he explained, “because just after they got here, the house a couple doors down from them was busted for selling meth.”  The couple he was speaking with, was understandably, extremely disillusioned by the crime brought on by the drug culture.

I laughed – a little sarcastically, I guess. “Yeah, contrary to popular belief, we are not immune here either; that’s for sure.”

“Well, guess what there answer to the problem, was?” he asked me, though responding before I could answer.  “Legalize drugs!” he exclaimed as he shook his head in disbelief.

“Oh man, you gotta be kidding me? How old were they?” I asked thinking maybe it was the inexperience of their youth that caused them to support that kind of attitude.

“In their 40’s, I would say,” my son answered. He knew my next question before I asked - What did you say to them?

“I simply told them, ‘What good would that do? There would still be crime!  People who could not support their habit would still need money to buy the then legal drugs. And they would still get the money for the drugs anyway they could. Only there would be more crime, because legalization of drugs would cause more people to do drugs. And drugs are generally a big factor in people not being able to hold jobs in the first place. Legalization wouldn’t solve a thing.’”

Wow! I was proud of my 19 year old son, but not surprised. First, for understanding the problem and recognizing the "solution of the day" - commonly espoused these days - was no solution at all. Secondly, I was proud of him for not being afraid to speak up! 

Their answer to his reasoning, he told me: “Oh I guess that’s true." Incredibly it was like a lightbulb had been turned on. "We hadn’t thought of that,” they continued in a thoughtful and polite tone.
 

Really????

Oh my word!!!  Does not anyone think things through for themselves anymore?! This is a classic example of why I realllllly believe in speaking up about things deemed politically incorrect! Sometimes ya just gotta help some people along, I guess.