Response to http://ricksahota.blogspot.com/

Referring to homosexuality...

I agree it does appear that the only ones to condemn homosexuality are those within organised religion. Just because it is not written in their big books it does not make it immoral. I was glad when it became possible for same sex couples to get married and I hope negative attitudes towards homosexuality continue to change.

Response to http://www.clairefelton91.blogspot.com/

Referring to post on infidelity...

I agree completely with you. I don't understand why people feel the need to be unfaithful. If someone is unhappy in their relationship surely it is better to end things so that noone gets hurt rather than go behind their back and betray them?

Response to http://www.healthsaeedah.blogspot.com/

Referring to post on incest...

I agree it is one of those things that I cannot get my head around at all. I cannot think of an example where it could possibly be seen as acceptable or understandable. I also think that the law where it is legal to marry your cousin is bad enough, let alone those who have relationships as brother and sister!

Abortion

Abortion is probably one of the most controversial topics of all. Some see it as “bad” regardless of circumstance whereas others have a more liberal view and recognise that in some cases it is in the best interest of all concerned.

The problem we have to acknowledge is how we determine when life begins. According to the church life begins at conception and therefore abortion is murder. It could be argued that life begins at the first heartbeat or when the nervous system is fully formed. In any case this is the definitive factor that helps us decide whether it is right or wrong. This website has some interesting facts on abortion http://www.abortionfacts.com/.

It could be argued that it is more acceptable for a young person who has no job, is studying and has no house of their own is more justified to abort a baby then someone who is financially and emotionally stable. It is understandable that if it is in the best interest in the life/potential life in question then it is the right thing to do.

Piracy

There are two sides of the coin when it comes to piracy. Some believe that it is acceptable because they have paid for the software to do so and there are companies who think that it is “bad” and will ruin the film, music and game industry.

There is the argument that if people steal movies, games and music then there is less money going into the industry and then there will therefore be less money to make such media. There is also the fact of copyright. It is illegal to download or copy films because they are copyrighted and only allowed to be sold by those who own those rights. Copyright laws are available on this website http://www.riaa.com/physicalpiracy.php?content_selector=piracy_online_the_law.

On the other hand there is software and hardware sold to enable us to do this so why is it illegal to do so? I mean there are programs that people can purchase to copy media and there is hardware available to put that media onto disc. Why sell them if we are then not allowed to use them? It seems that there would be fewer problems if this was not available.

Stealing

Stealing is another controversial issue. In some case we are more likely to accept that a person is more justified in committing that action.

If someone who was rich was found to be stealing we would find this to be “bad” because they do not need to steal, they have the money to buy the items instead. It seems alien that when someone has enough money to buy whatever it is they desire that they instead feel the need to take it instead.

We would however have more sympathy and understanding for those who cannot afford food or drink. If you cannot afford to live it would force you to do things that are not normally in character or acceptable behaviour. For example I would not go into a supermarket and put a sandwich in my bag and walk out with it because I have the money to pay for it, but if I was poor and starving I would feel like I was left with no option.
This is an interesting article on shoplifting http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4477596.stm.

Tattoos

When we see people with tattoos we normally associate them with being rebellious or a rogue and this therefore leads to us believing them to be “bad”. This is however not always the case.

Tattoos although a controversial topic are not just ink beneath the skin, they can also be seen as art. They are not done by unskilled or talentless people; they are done by those who have been trained in that particular area of expertise. It is a similar concept to graffiti. Someone writing “your mom” on a wall isn’t art in the same way as a poorly done tattoo is not, but when someone is skilled enough to make graffiti art it is similar to a good tattoo.

Some people have tattoos as a tribute to the memory of a deceased love one. In this case we think of them as less bad because we can sympathise and understand why they want something to remind them of said love one forever. There are however medical issues concerning tattoos. This website highlights these concerns; http://www.tattooingtips.com/health-risks-of-getting-tattoos.html.

Graffiti
Graffiti is seen by many as vandalism. A “bad” act committed by “bad” people who have no respect for other people’s property. In some cases this is true, but it is not necessarily true of all cases. Sometimes graffiti can be art.

Those who write nonsense on bathroom walls or write who loves or who hates who on bus stops or walls are not artists. These are the people who do not have respect for other people’s property. There is no skill in doing it.

They are those however who do make graffiti artistic and that make a living doing so. Banksy for example is a graffiti artist who has done many famous works in public places. These works are admired by people all around the world and in some cases councils pay to have the works preserved rather than treat them as vandalism. His works can be found at http://www.banksy.co.uk/.

Drugs

Drugs are often thought of as “bad”. The question is why? Is it worse to take drugs or to deal drugs to others? We often think that personal use is the lesser evil to dealing drugs. As a society we think of different drugs being less “bad” than others. This is mainly due to the class system in place to separate the severity of punishment or crime level of different drugs.

Cannabis, which is a class B drug (classes can be seen here http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/drugs-law/Class-a-b-c/ ), seems to be the most talked about and most socially acceptable. It is also the most widely used, yet still illegal, drug in Britain. It can cause hallucinations and can act as a sedative causing a “chill out” mood or sleepiness. Hunger, sickness and laughing fits are also common side effects. Links have been made with prolonged regular use of cannabis and the development of psychotic and mental health problems. As with smoking it seems to be link with the idea of being rebellious, cool and even just for the feeling people get from it.

Heroin on the other hand is a class A drug. It seems like we find this much less acceptable/understand its users less than we do with cannabis. Both of these are illegal drugs and police will take action in either case. Heroin is a natural opiate that is formed from morphine. It is essentially an incredibly strong pain killer. Heroin is rapidly addictive, more so than cannabis and users have to increase their dosage to compensate for the lessened effects over time and to avoid withdrawal effects too.

Although heroin is more additive and a higher class it has been determined that they are still both illegal, it is a criminal offense to use and distribute/sell them and they can both lead to a prison sentence or an unlimited fine. Neither can really be classed as less “bad” than the other. More information about the different types of drugs can be found at http://www.talktofrank.com/atoz.aspx .

Prostitution

Prostitution is a controversial issue. This is mainly because we can divide prostitution into two categories; people who are forced into prostitution and those who chose to participate through their own free will. It seems less of a “bad” thing for people to prostitute themselves through choice and you could in fact argue that it is more wrong that people actually illicit their services therefore they make prostitution “bad”. By this I mean married men or women entering into the act and consequently committing adultery.

There are some who are not given the choice and are forced into prostitution. In some cases they already have a drug addiction and need to sell their bodies in order to fund the habit and in others young people are exploited and lured into the trade under false pretenses. At the BBC website http://www.politics.co.uk/briefings-guides/issue-briefs/policing-and-crime/prostitution-$366674.htm there are many examples including a case in Wales where a 61 year old man lied to young girls in chat rooms about his age and exploited them for his own sexual pleasure.

Another factor to take into consideration is the idea that prostitutes are “bad people” who take drugs, have sexually transmitted diseases, drink too much alcohol and commit anti-social acts. This website http://www.politics.co.uk/briefings-guides/issue-briefs/policing-and-crime/prostitution-$366674.htm talks a lot about these issues but does not in fact provide evidence to support that prostitution causes the high crime rates or if it is merely a correlation where we read what they want us to read.

It seems clear that prostitution can be “bad” but that it is not intrinsically “bad”.

Masturbation


Masturbation is something that is seen as a “bad” act/ thing to do. It's drummed into us that mainly by the church that it is not the done thing.

According to the Catholic church (like most things) it is a sin. The Bible teaches us that any sexual act be it traditional sex outside of marriage, oral sex or anal sex are all sins. The latter are sins as they do not lead to procreation and the first because it is classed as immoral;"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral" (Hebrews 13:4, NIV) and "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whore-mongers and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4, KJV). Also according to the Bible we should "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV) .

Another point to be aware of is that masturbation has not always been seen as “bad”. The Ancient Egyptians believed it was a celebratory act in honour of the sun god who created the first male and female. There is also a type of chimpanzee, which we share 98.4% of our DNA with, practice masturbation; this suggests that the act itself might be inherited behaviour. This website has all the information in greater detail http://www.afraidtoask.com/masturbate/History.htm .

Lying with Integrity

Although we inherently perceive lying as bad this is surely not always the case. We seem to subdivide lying into categories of acceptability; white lies, which we would say are small and more for someone’s benefit than harm and then there are lies that we class as unacceptable and that are more likely to cause hurt and upset.

There are some lies that we get told when we are children such as Santa Claus and the tooth fairy. Now some would argue that these are lies at all but rather stories. Without quibbling over the details this is still something we are told that is not the truth. But does it actually cause any harm? No. When you are young it makes Christmas more magical and
special and from personal experience I enjoyed Christmas more as a child when I believed in Santa. The same can be said for the tooth fairy. It’s much better for the pain of pulling a tooth out thinking that a fairy will replace it with money. Though that being said the money is good on its own regardless of the fairy!

On the other side of the spectrum there are lies that are not as innocent. For example before the enlightenment when only those within the church could read the Bible as they were only written in Latin. This made them powerful as no one could dispute their teachings because they couldn’t read them! It was actually common for some clergy to sell pieces of paper and claim that they were tickets to heaven to make their churches richer. This clearly is a lie that does harm to others rather than help them as they are not having the choice to think for themselves and are being controlled.

This is an interesting site looking at lies from a philosophical point of view; http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lying-definition/

Smoking

Some people say they “need to smoke” or they “only have a few a day” or even that they “only smoke when they drink”; but whichever of these statements fits a person best they are still a smoker. I myself cannot see the appeal. When I walk past a group of smokers I can actually feel their smoke invading my body and that is by far enough of the stuff for me. Whether I agree with it or not it is clearly portrayed in a bad light by the media today. This was not always the case, there was a time when smoking was seen as glamorous and was acceptable almost everywhere.

In “My Best Friend’s Wedding” Julia Roberts (pictured right) is seen smoking in several scenes throughout the film. Nearly every time she does so it is when she is stressed or angry. Once she lights up and smokes for a while she appears to calm down and become more rational. This seems to suggest that other than just looking appealing smoking is seen as an emotional crutch as well. It could be due to ideas such as this that smoking can be seen as somehow more understandable, as it is portrayed as good for emotional health even if it isn’t for physical health.

Supermodels such as Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell (pictured right) have been seen smoking. There have been links with smoking and hunger. It has been suggested that smoking suppresses appetite, which could be why models tend to smoke. Now whether there is truth in the claim (which this quit smoking website seems to support http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/weightgain/a/weightgainquit.htm) it is reasonable that if young people see this, as they are arguably under the most pressure to be slim, they would see smoking as more attractive and would be more likely to start smoking.

It is clear that those in the public eye can have a large effect on those who idolise/look up to them.

Topic suggestion

In my opinion an interesting topic would be the idea of "bad" language. We associate bad language with swearing but it is in fact not "bad" in terms of construction but rather from stigma that surrounds it. Discovering how such words came to be deemed as "bad" and if they were always seen that way would make for a beneficial lesson.