Thursday, August 9, 2012

Sanitary Compulsive Disorder



     Ever since amoebas evolved and contorted into species of the animal Kingdom, mouths (or a digestive organ resembling one) have been swallowing more than just a good meal in and of itself.  The further one looks back in time, the less likely it becomes, that proper dinner table etiquette was practiced by the human species. The body’s outer layer of skin has long been the first-line of defense against microorganisms, but a body has several orifices that give germs an easy route to the internal immunity defense system.
     In my workplace environment, as well as many others, there are differing sanitation habits when dealing with the handling of food brought in for a co-worker or co-workers.  Potlucks are a popular form of getting the whole office together for a favorite ritual: eating.  In the break room on a  long table lays a smorgasbord of edibles.  A compulsive disorder can be a nightmare for someone.  If the hand of someone else reaches into a bread bag to retrieve a slice of bread, or reaches for “finger foods” on a tray bare fingered, a sterile addict may scream bloody murder and embarrass this poor unsanitary soul.  When does being reasonably clean become compulsory?  Where is the line drawn?  A famous pop star icon had a compulsive cleaning disorder which no one would have paid any attention to if not for the air filtering mask he wore in front of all cameras to capture a snapshot.
     Germs and bacteria clash with a living being’s immune system not only through the intake of food and drink, but also through the air that they breathe.  A person with a compulsive cleaning disorder attempts to rid the interior of a house entirely of all viruses, germs and bacteria once and for all.  There is nothing wrong with the desire to keep a clean and tidy house according to ones aspiration and pride.  It becomes an addiction when a person imagines the house to be swarming with filthiness even after the house has been sanitized from top to bottom.  A compulsive cleaner does overkill and spend an exorbitant amount of time cleaning.
     A body’s immune system has been the hidden, lean, mean fighting machine that has been warding off germs, viruses, and bacteria for millions of years.  As millennia have come and gone, non-humans have fundamentally maintained the same hygienic habits as their ancestors.  Humans have not been so fortunate.  The more man evolves, the more man learns about germs, viruses and bacteria and how to sterilize direct or indirect links to the body.  The home will become cleaner and cleaner, and our immune systems will become lazier and unmotivated and increasingly docile.  Children especially, need exposure to bacteria in order for their immune systems to develop properly.  Children can become susceptible to asthma, allergies and additional more severe medical conditions, if not allowed to let their built-in defense mechanism to do its intended function.  Some microorganisms have become anti-biotic resistant or have arrived on the scene recently and have not been given the opportunity to be fought against.  Other bacteria have mutated into more deadly forms on their own.  Paranoid, uneducated people, who think there are deadly organisms ingested with every bite they take, inhaled with every breath they take or transferred to their body with every handshake or bathroom door touched, are actually defeating the purpose of the immune system.  To not let the immune system do its intended job is to cripple it.  “Use it or lose it” is a relative motto.
     The evolutionary process will continue to run its course as long as there are living things on earth.  I’m just fearful that too many people are giving germs more credit than they deserve and are trying too hard to assist the immune system in fighting off intruders.
     Treating a compulsive disorder as an addiction and affording the addict adequate counseling to come to a reasonable middle ground will turn back the clocks of time and allow the once mighty immune system to run its course and provide evolutionary protection against the invading enemy.  Our descendant’s lives may depend on it.
     

Criminal Punishment



     Ever since the unwritten law of right and wrong has been applied, man has debated what type of punishment should be enforced for a criminal act or acts.
     In most third world countries, a punishment can far outweigh the crime.  Religion and culture formulate these laws and must be adhered to in the strictest sense or have the violator face serious consequences.
     In ancient Rome, one can only imagine the battlefield-like arena with gladiator pitted against gladiator.  The roaring crowd would not be applauding a basketball player pumping back, shooting and hitting nothing but net, but rather, a tiger mauling a slave to death.  Imagine the quantity of blood spewing endlessly throughout the day and the aroma of death filling the air.  Deadly violence in sports arenas was acceptable to emperors and commoners alike.  This barbaric behavior cannot be attributed to any one country through the evolutionary process but by evolution alone.  The term “Only the Strong Survive”, has been relevant since the dawn of time.  Some countries today still practice “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” rule of law.  Theft in some Middle Eastern countries is punishable by the severance of one or both hands; to make it more difficult for the thief to be a repeat offender.  “Allegedly” cheating on a spouse or disrespecting him or a family member can draw the wrath of being stoned to death. With so much diversity in this world and cultures we cannot understand, an international rule of law will only be a dream for the future.
     By contrast, civilized countries, past and present, have written laws that humanize the crime and in certain instances, allow the law breaker a chance to rehabilitate, or a term I like to use, “grow up”.  Bad judgment is human in nature and can be corrected, given the chance.  No rule of law is foolproof and many criminals have never been caught breaking the law while innocent bystanders have gone to prison for lengthy stays unless, and until DNA tests prove their innocence.
     As civilized nations evolve even further, the last bastion of barbaric punishment will be banned in its entirety.  Capital punishment is used as a deterrent to minimize the number of murders committed by a society.  A murderer will not stop his murderous thought process long enough to weigh the consequences of his or her pending actions.  Besides, who is to say that capital punishment is a more severe form of punishment than spending the rest of one’s life like a caged animal?
     Civilized nations give the accused the benefit of the doubt in the form of “innocent until proven guilty”.  This rule of law is taxing to the judicial system but is necessary to respect the rights of its citizens, to the extent that in a criminal trial, defense lawyers initially have the upper hand against prosecutors.  Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of the crime for which he or she has been brought before the court.  Sometimes celebrity status or race will play a crucial role in the outcome of a trial by jury verdict.  Hard, physical evidence was evident in the O.J. Simpson trial, but the defendant was found “not guilty” by the jury.  The trial was tainted by money, greed and racial sensitivity.  Had it been the same scenario with a lesser known citizen committing the murders, the jury would have expeditiously returned a guilty verdict. 
     No court system has ever been perfect although the court systems that respect human rights have proven to be the righteous ones. Additionally, a citizens’ right to a speedy trial and the option of appealing a guilty verdict to a higher court should be the envy of all countries.
     In the foreseeable future, no one can expect all nations to be at par with each other when it comes to crime and punishment. For now, punishment for a crime will be left to the discretion of each individual country and its own rule of law based on its religion and culture.  Human rights in our culture has always been kept at the forefront of humanity, and our ability to respect the rights of our citizens no matter who they are or how far they have climbed up the social ladder, WILL be the cornerstone of our existence.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Superior Swimming Holes



     Growing up in a small wild west town in the 1960’s and 1970’s, it’s a wonder why I, or any other rough-and-tumble kid came out of childhood relatively unscathed or better yet, alive.
     The town of Superior is located in a mountainous, desert region of Arizona and the town itself sits in a pocket with tall peaks - thereby delaying the manifestation of a beautiful sunrise or expediting a panoramic sunset. Slicing through the mountains and the town itself is a seasonal creek which after a respectable rainstorm, provides the local populace with at least 3 free swimming pools. Getting to these swimming holes was a danger in itself. Walking on an old road as far as it would take us before we had to decide when to leave the comfort of weathered asphalt and maneuver our built in guidance system towards the watery target was a choice my friends and I had to make.
     The desert tends to welcome the most ominous creatures nature can provide. Walking in the desert is not synonymous with walking around a sports track. Walking in the desert requires the utmost alertness to the surroundings. Rattlesnakes seem to enjoy the comfort of lounging next to a prickly pear cactus and tend to get in a coiled stance when threatened by the sound of footsteps. In this coiled stance, a rattlesnake will not start shuddering it’s rattler until a subject is within viewing distance and that could be a simultaneous split-second event.  A rattlesnake will decide whether it feels endangered enough when a subject is within striking distance, whether to spring into action and inject poisonous venom or let the subject walk on by. Objectively, a subject will not just “walk on by”, but rather jump out of his/her shoes and run.
     Less frequently encountered - but nevertheless as frightening as a rattlesnake - were Black Widow spiders and scorpions. Curious souls spreading the branches of bushes may stumble upon a Black Widow spider web with the host placidly looking on. Scorpions tend to hide under loose rocks and would be exposed upon a hapless individual stepping on a rock the wrong way causing it to move from its place. Airborne threats were in the form of bumblebees and wasps who loved to be where the water was. Even less frequently encountered “Devils of the Desert” were the Mountain Lion, Coyote, Javelina and Bobcat. These animals were keen in their ability to avoid human contact.
     Putting living creatures aside, one had to be athletic and agile enough to hike the 3 miles or so over mountainous rock and dense foliage to make it to the swimming holes. Once that criteria was met, the question then became, “Can I swim”? EVERYONE knew how to swim back then. There were no formal swimming lessons given. Anyone growing up in Superior had to know how to swim or be ridiculed for not knowing how. And presently, if a current or former Superiorite remembers how they learned how to swim, they would be fibbing. It was almost like having a built in gene that allowed us to become agile swimmers effortlessly.
     One particular swimming hole was called the “Number 1” because it was the first big pond a local would come to if “pedal”ing east along the creek from Superior. The pond was deep and was well hidden from the outside world. Nestled between two enormous rock formations, the pond even had its own cave dwelling and mini sandy beach. And there lies more danger. These swimming holes didn’t attract only a few diehards during the rainy season. Flocks of teens and preteens would make the trek to this majestic place. Imagine numerous limbs flailing around in the water as others would climb up the rock walls to see who could dive from the highest ledge. Couple this with older teens climbing up the opposite cliff where the gut jutted out too far to be able to see the water below and “accidently” loosen rock and cause the law of gravity to kick in.
     The age range of these brave individuals were between twelve and twenty-one. I wouldn’t call the legal adults in this age group responsible enough to carry the title of Chaperone, Lifeguard, Medic or any other profession that was needed to ensure that every living human being wading in these treacherous waters stayed that way. Yet, through it all, it’s safe to say that through the one rattlesnake bite and the one injured shoulder from a falling rock, everyone did survive without one loss of life or limb. Ironically, I credit this to our parents willingness to trust our survival skills enough to allow us to experience the good and bad of nature and mold us into what we’ve become today.