consequences

 Vice. It's a topic I often address. Yes, I am familiar with it. I'm not trying to say I'm not. Listen I spent twenty years in the Navy, you learn about vice. Couple that with a simple fact, I'm a normal human being subject to temptation, and you have experience. But the thing about vice is we all know we shouldn't be doing whatever it is that we are doing. It is what makes it exciting, at the same time making the normal person a bit nervous. We are all aware of the possibility of punishment for engaging in this vice. The punishment may be civil penalties or from a higher power. Still, we want that immediate satisfaction. We figure we can always make amends later on for our indiscretions. We are willing to take the risk for the reward. And what is the reward of vice? Money and pleasure. They are the goals when engaging in vice. 

 Vice concerns our morals. If it is immoral, it's vice. You could say a great number of our civil laws define what vice is. That's why it is illegal in the first place. You could argue the action isn't hurting anyone else, and that argument is often used, but the action is still illegal. Why, because it is immoral. In years past gambling was considered immoral. In 1869 Nevada allowed card playing and roulette wheels. Las Vegas wasn't called sin city without reason. By the 1940' and 1950's a number of states allowed betting on horses and low stakes charity games. In 1964 New Hampshire established the first state lottery. 1978 saw New Jersey open its' first casino. 1985 an interstate lottery was established and by 1996 25 states and three territories had casinos. Today 44 states have lotteries. Only eight states do not. Interestingly enough Nevada is one the states that does not have a lottery. I think the reason is obvious enough, don't want to hurt the casino business. Alabama doesn't have a lottery either. Their reasoning is based on religious principles, it's immoral.

 All of this was brought to mind again this morning as I was listening to the television. Maryland recently legalized sports betting and it is being heavily promoted. You can't go very long without seeing some ad about Fan Duel, Ceasars or MGM sports book. Being of a certain age I can't believe I'm hearing about sports books and booking on the television. Well, I used to hear that years ago after they arrested some gangsters for engaging in that activity. But today the gangsters are making records and the government running the books, times sure have changed. I remember when having a punch card was kept kinda secret! So was the name of the local bookie, and every town had one. But all that was in whispers and today it is broadcast on a national level. 

 Is it hurting anyone? Well, they do advertise for the gambling help line if you get into trouble with that. You won't get your money back but will get free advice on how to gamble responsibly. Yes, you can engage in vice in a responsible manner. Never heard that in church, did you? No, only from those profiting off that vice. Today we have decided that vice should be unbounded. All vice, all the time. You can now bet 24/7. I did see where the casino in Delaware is closed on Christmas and Easter. A nod to religious beliefs?  It's true that our constitution does not establish a religion. Religion and morality go hand in hand. But when writing that constitution, the framers believed only religious and moral people would govern the nation. We the people were expected to be moral and religious people. For that reason, many things were not delineated in the constitution or the bill of rights. They simply didn't feel it was necessary. Over time laws were written to regulate what the people were doing, what they were engaging in. Vice was among the earliest. That was closely followed by ethics. Yes, moral and religious peoples should display proper ethical behaviors. Not a religious thing, not a moral thing, but an ethical issue. It could be argued that all these lotteries, all this betting, is preying upon the people who can least afford it. Is it hurting anyone? 

 Is it harmful to allow a child to just do what they want? Wouldn't we call that abuse? State sponsored vice is no different in my view. All civil penalties have been removed. The only penalty left is one of a personal nature. A temptation is being offered. Advice on how to engage in that vice is being offered as well. You can engage in vice without any consequences at all. That is the message being sent. Just engage in vice in a responsible way. It's quite the progressive approach, don't you think? We have legalized gambling, some states are "decriminalizing" marijuana use saying it is legal when in fact it is still a federal crime. Abortion, for any reason at all, and at any point in the pregnancy is being decried as a right, it is health care. What other vice is left? Well, as I said I was in the Navy for twenty years, been all over the world. There are nations where entire city blocks are devoted to vice and the sex industry. Can that be far from reaching our shores? Not at the rate we are going now. In my opinion the final degradation in any society is the removal of morality. When it's legal to engage in vice, unfettered, without bounds, and without consequence. You have to believe in consequence. Consequence is what tempers our actions and our choices. You can learn to ignore consequence, but it won't go away. Some call it Karma. That is in Hindu and Buddhism and some other religions. Means the same thing. Consequences.