4th + “The Controversial Survey”

We had a pretty quiet 4th. Watched the fireworks the night before, then the day of we we went to the Farmer’s Market and picked up a catfish which we proceeded to clean + behead and all of that good stuff. It was my first time and I was verrrry nervous but it turned out to be much easier than cutting up a whole chicken, for me. We breaded + fried it. Delish. We also stopped in at our neighbors little party, which was fun. We don’t know her very well but we’re getting there. She was the one who had to tell us Turtle was hit.

My dad and his wife are coming to visit, they’ll be here Friday. I’m excited, and I’m excited for Laura (she’s never traveled outside of Mexico). 

Anyway, not much to say, so I’ll leave you with this. I’m bored, obviously.

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?
Sure, why not.

[02] Would you do meth if it was legalized?
I wouldn’t really be any more likely to, no. I don’t generally choose to do things based on their legality, I choose to do things based on research and determining if I feel it’s safe or not.

[03] Abortion: for or against it?
First and foremost, I feel it should absolutely always be legal. Regardless of what anyone thinks about whether it’s right or wrong, it WILL happen and I’d much prefer it happen in an appropriate environment with trained professionals. With that being said, I am pro-choice. I haven’t always been, I’m sure long-time readers will definitely remember a time, not really that long ago, where I was very much pro-life, and didn’t feel that abortion was ever right. Things change…I still don’t like it when women use abortion as birth control (having multiple abortions because you’re too lazy/don’t care enough to use birth control or condoms), but as far as abortion goes in general, it is truly every women’s choice. If someone is struggling with their bills, barely can take care of themselves, and they find out they’re pregnant and decide to abort, who the hell am I (or anyone else) to judge them for that decision? Of course I wouldn’t prefer that she have the child anyway and never be able to provide suitable care, food, clothing, etc…

[04] Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
I’m guessing this question is supposed to say "The US". I don’t think it would fail, no, and I wouldn’t be against voting for a woman if I felt she was the right choice. If Sarah Palin is ever president of this country, though, I’ll be figuring out how to move out of here even faster.

[05] Do you believe in the death penalty?
I don’t know. I honestly don’t. It’s something I’m so torn on, and I really can’t come to a conclusion. I used to park behind a car at work with anti-death-penalty bumper stickers, so I thought about it literally twice a day, and…yeah, I still can’t decide. I think I’m leaning towards no, I don’t agree with it, but I can’t say for certain. Let me get back to you on that one.

[06] Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
Yup. Not just because I wish it would be, but because I think it’s bullshit that it’s not, especially when you give a long hard look into the reasons why it’s illegal. I’m really hoping that Prop 19 here in California passes, and I really hope that all other states follow shortly. Regardless of whether you like to smoke or not, it comes down to the fact that if alcohol is legal, if tobacco is legal, weed should be legal as well. Let adults decide for themselves. I’m actually against prohibition on most, if not all, drugs…countries that focus on education, support, and helpful resources rather than prohibition see much less tragedy because of drugs.

[07] Are you for or against premarital sex?
All for it, if that’s what you choose to do. What I’m really against is anyone who feels they have ANY right to tell two adults what to do in their relationship. Besides that, sex is a big part of a relationship, and ending up with someone you’re not really compatible with because you didn’t have sex before marriage…not a good thing.

[08] Do you believe in God?
No. Not in any way, really. I can’t really decide if I should go into any further detail here, because the question is pretty simple and so was my answer. Really, though, I don’t care if somebody believes in God, if they don’t try to force it on anyone, BUT it does drive me nuts when people can’t come up with any reason they believe in God other than that they "just do" or because it’s what they grew up with, when they haven’t even really tried to figure it out at all.

[09] Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Yes. Of course. 

[10] Do you think it’s wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally moving to the USA?
Hard to say. It’s something I think about a lot. On the one hand, it’s still weird and bizarre to me that we, all being human, have walls and borders and gates specifically to keep other humans out because they weren’t born in the right place. That’s pretty much just what society is, though. So I don’t know…I know there’s a problem with it right now. I feel like blaming the entire failing economy of the US on illegals is ridiculous, but I know it’s a part of it, but…I don’t know what the "fix" would be. I’m glad all the time that I’m not president, because damn, I wouldn’t want that job. I don’t blame any one single illegal for any of it, though, nor do I judge them for being here illegally, when all they’re trying to do is make life better for themselves and their families. 

[11] A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
That’s up to her parents. Jonathan and I were talking about this the other day, and I was telling him that I intend to be absolutely 100% honest with my kids about sex, I will answer questions and keep communication flowing and open as they age, I won’t tell them not to have sex because that’s just unrealistic and unreasonable in my eyes, but I will also make sure they’re very informed and educated when it comes to pregnancy, STDs, the emotional aspects of sex, etc…and a big part of that will be explaining to them that I will not raise their child. If they’re choosing to have sex, they damn well better be doing it safely. If my 14ish year old daughter came to me, pregnant, abortion and adoption would absolutely be discussed first. If the decision was made that the baby would be kept, she would work very, very hard around my house to help pay me back for the time/money being spent on her child until she was old enough to get a job herself (around here it’s usually 16), and not finishing school would not be an option, either. This would all be discussed long before my children were having sex, let alone pregnant. 

[12] Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
Yes. 

[13] Should the war in Iraq be called off?
It shouldn’t have happened in the first place and it shouldn’t still be happening.

[14] Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
I absolutely disagree. I think the work of Dignitas (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignitas_(euthanasia_group)”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignitas_(euthanasia_group)) is awesome and I’m so glad there’s at least one place in the world like it, especially if you read some of the stories of people who went there. You hear stories of people who are facing full-body paralysis or similar if their disease is to continue, and of course they deserve the right to say, "No, I won’t live like that". Suicide is so much like abortion- it’s going to happen regardless, it’s best to let it happen in a safe environment. Suicide attempts can go so, so wrong, and it’s tragic. 

[15] Do you believe in spanking your children?
No
[16] Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
I’m going to leave the last person’s answer, because I thought it was good. My own personal answer is that yes, I would. Personally, I’d have no problem doing this. The flag, as a symbol, has deteriorated to a commercial icon decorating car advertisements and toilet seats. The only reason I would hesitate is that it would cause serious grief to the people who still give weight to it as a representation of their service to our country or in memory of a loved one. This is also why I wouldn’t use the flag in an ad or as a decoration. I don’t associate it with any particularly heavy personal attachment, but I do respect the feelings of those that do. 

[17] Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
It’s a little late for this, but I’d still go with Obama.

[18] Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
Nah. I mean, yes, I know people might judge, but I don’t think most of this is that big of a shocker anyway, and besides that, I don’t care