Letting it go to your head
a column by Chris Jungle

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and most of the time it doesn't matter what a person's views are. Some people think Coke is better than Pepsi, some think home schooling is the best education for a child, and others think opening day of baseball should be a national holiday. Opinions are fun, bait for interesting conversations and the foundation for how each person is seen in the world's eyes.

Unfortunately, many of the opinions out there are based upon unresearched and poorly constructed arguments. This can be accepted in the barber shops and shopping malls, but the flaky thinking has also found its way into government.

In the New Mexico State Senate, a debate occurred over how owners of child pornography should be punished. While most people would agree that child pornography is extremely unhealthy for viewers, how they should be punished varied intensely. Some senators sought mild punishment while other went so far as to suggest the death penalty. Senator Tim Jennings, who suggested the latter, said "You can't fix people who exploit children. What this does is solve a problem and solve it once and for all." Although the quote rang of personal conviction, it seemed to have no researched backing behind it. Had the good senator had first hand experience of child pornography advocates? Did he talked to psychiatrists who told him that those who watched kiddy porn were beyond any help? Or was it that the senator had the very fetish he condemned and was in self denial? The article was not specific.

The problem with many of the lawmakers in this country is that they do not always make educated decisions when considering bills that affect everyone. If all lawmakers took Senator Jennings belief and applied it to all "problems," death row would be something the majority of Americans would experience. When dealing with the issue of child pornography, several points need to be looked at. How many people deal in child pornography? What are the common crimes committed by owners of child pornographic material? Are these crimes worthy of the death penalty?

Personally, I think it should be illegal to sell or own kiddy porn, but I don't think killing those folks is the answer. Not only does it reek of Wild West mentality, but it doesn't solve any problem. At best, it just thins the herd. If all narcotic dealers and users could be punished by the death penalty, it might scare some away, but the problem will still exist.

One of the problems with many Americans (columnists included) is that we tend to let are opinions run wild and to the extremes. Environmentalists think the world should be conserved, but several go to the point where they would destroy a lumber yard because of their opinions. Anti-abortion groups believe that life starts at conception and should be spared. Some of them feel so strongly about this that they are willing to attack and kill people who have the opposite opinion. Gun advocates think everyone should have guns while anti-gun groups feel the killing contraption should not exist.

Extremism is occurring all around this country, and it is really starting to get annoying. Everyone thinks their thoughts are not only the best way to live their own lives, but the best way for everyone to live. This 'If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for everybody' thinking has bred a lot of intolerance. The Religious Right says their way of life is the best, President Clinton thinks everyone one should be on the Internet, and my sixth grade teacher always said everyone should go to Ireland. There's nothing wrong with giving people choices to do all of these things, but there's a big difference between 'opportunity' and 'mandatory.'

Very few answers are found on the fringes where extremism lives. This is not to say that this type of thinking shouldn't exist because some of the funniest, craziest thoughts come from there. It's okay to think kiddy porn owners should die as long as people are still willing to listen to other opinions. Our government works best when lawmakers (even the crazies) consider others opinions.

There's over two hundred eighty million people in the United States and it is doubtful any two of them have the same opinions on everything. If there is, it's probably because one wants to date the other. I doubt Senator Jennings and I will ever meet (or date), but we can both live and thrive in this world as long as we both can accept each others opinions. If someone would tell this to all the people who are still freaking out about the O.J. Verdicts, I would sincerely appreciate it.

Chris Jungle has been informed that the title 'Kiddie Porn Advocate' has been added to the list in his FBI file.

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