Our nearly century-long experiment in banning marijuana has failed as abysmally as Prohibition did... In contrast, legalizing and taxing marijuana would bring in substantial sums that could be used to pay for schools, libraries or early childhood education.
Interpretation
The failed attempt to ban marijuana is likened to Prohibition, suggesting that legalization could provide financial benefits for public services.
In this quote, Kristof highlights the historical failure of marijuana prohibition, comparing it to the failed alcohol Prohibition in the early 20th century. He argues that rather than continuing a policy that has proven ineffective, society should consider the potential benefits of legalizing and taxing marijuana, which could generate significant revenue for vital public services such as education. This perspective prompts a reevaluation of the legal status of marijuana and its implications for society.
In practice
In a debate about drug policy, one might cite this quote to advocate for legalization.
More girls were killed in the last 50 years, precisely because they were girls, than men killed in all the wars in the 20th century. More girls are killed in this routine gendercide in any one decade than people were slaughtered in all the genocides of the 20th century. The equivalent of 5 jumbo jets worth of women die in labor each day... life time risk of maternal death is 1,000x higher in a poor country than in the west. That should be an international scandal.
The fact that people will pay you to talk to people and travel to interesting places and write about what intrigues you, I am just amazed by that.
Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is really essential: a major aid campaign to improve midwifery, prenatal care and emergency obstetric services in poor countries.
You will be judged in years to come by how you responded to genocide on your watch.
Itβs time for a 21st-century abolitionist movement in the U.S and around the world.
Just a little help, a small security force, a bit of food, can save lives
The motivation of all religious practice is similar: love, sincerity, honesty. The way of life of practically all religious persons is consistent. The teachings of tolerance, love, and compassion are the same.
Yes, that's the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? That is long ago. We are old folk.
I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?
A man of clear ideas errs grievously if he imagines that whatever is seen confusedly does not exist; it belongs to him, when he meets with such a thing, to dispel the midst, and fix the outlines of the vague form which is looming through it.
I think doctors care very deeply about their patients, but when they organize into the AMA, their responsibility is to the welfare of doctors, and quite often, these lobbying groups are the only ones that are heard in the state capitols and in the capitol of our country.
I confess that there is nothing to teach: no religion, no science, no writings which will lead your mind back to Spirit. Today I speak this way, tomorrow that, but always the Path is beyond words and beyond mind.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.