Maybe people shouldn't worry so much about the abundance of education, but the quality.

How can you say that the rich are lazy? Most rich people had to WORK for the high-paying jobs. Just because Americans are lazy and don't want to work for their pay doesn't mean that the wealthy should have their income confiscated and handed out to the lower class. America is the land of OPPORTUNITY. Not the land of free hand-outs. If you don't like where you are on the economic ladder then change it. Hard work pays off; too bad a lot of America doesn't see it that way.

Cigarette smoking is definitely an unhealthy habit, but completely banning cigarette smoking would definitely be a violation of human rights. Cigarette smoking does not effect one's ability to drive, operate machinery, hold a steady job, or be a decent parent. The only thing it does is put the smoker's health at risk. At this point, smoking is banned in all public places except the great outdoors where there is plenty of space for non-smokers to dwell while they are outside to avoid secondhand smoke. In New York, the state government is indirectly trying to ban cigarette smoking by jacking up the price of cigarettes. Four years ago, in Long Island, NY the average price for a pack of cigarettes was $4.50; now it's up to $10.00. Smokers should not have to have a hole burned through their pocket because they smoke cigarettes. So, yes, smoking is in no way good for smokers health wise, but it is up to the individual to decide what they want to do with their health and should not have to pay five dollars per pack of cigarettes in excise taxes because it is unhealthy... why not ban the sale of snack foods and carbonated beverages while you're at it?

Nudism should be no means be allowed in public. It is true that humans used to be more accepting of nudity thousands and thousands of years ago because after all, we are animals. By this time, we have evolved way past our animal stage and are much more complex, meaningful beings. We see the human body as sacred, hence why we only expose it to people we love and hold dear (usually) and allowing public nudism would strip this sacred aspect of the body and place ourselves closer to the category of animals. Plus, public nudity could give bacteria and disease a much better chance of infecting us, especially STD's. We have public transportation, restaurants, movie theatres, classrooms, etc. that could be nesting grounds for diseases such as herpes if we were not properly clothed. Another point of why this would be wrong is because of deviants in society. I don't know about any of you, but I would not enjoy rapists and murderers gazing at my future daughter's or wife's naked body.

This is based completely on my opinion and experiences with America's youth, but absolutely not. First of all, kids tend to be very easily manipulated by the media and pretty much any other source of information for that matter. Yes, kids can have a decent understanding of politics and government but they also tend to want to vote for politicians and bills that would directly benefit them in the shortest amount of time. Kids tend to not want to delay benefits for the good of the nation but want to see immediate results. If the youth were given a right to vote I think this country would have went completely socialist back in the 1960's.

If you're talking about the three main religions in the world (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) then religion is definitely a force for evil. It is just an excuse to conquer lands and tell people how they should live their lives and how they should not live. It keeps followers in check and makes sure they do not deviate from the wishes of the powers that be. Other than those three religions, it is pretty neutral. Religion used to be a system that explained the seemingly impossible or the intimidatingly incredible. For example, the Norse myths of those ancient people explained the creation of the universe, how humans came to be, and occurrences in nature; pretty harmless if you ask me. The only thing that Heathenry did for the people besides this is to instill virtues that helped families to survive and work together to do so... that is until King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway began the conversion to Christianity of the Scandinavian people and the torture and slaughter of those who resisted conversion.

I'm not going to get too in-depth with this argument, as a lot has been said; but Christmas is always something I like to share with my friends and family. The Christmas celebration, omitting the celebration of Jesus Christ's "birthday." First of all, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, a common time to celebrate Yule which is one of three holy nights during Yuletide (the other two being Mother Night which precedes Yule and Twelfth Night which takes place on the last night of Yuletide). The "twelve days of Christmas" also has its origins in the twelve days of Yuletide that pagans celebrated. Most importantly, the whole legend of Santa Claus was borrowed from Heathens by Christians who also added their story of Saint Nicolas. Heathens believed that Odin led a huge Yule hunting party through the sky while riding his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. Children would place baskets of carrots and such for Sleipnir to eat by their chimney and then Odin would reward the kindness of the children with sweets and gifts.

As a practicing Heathen, I would have to completely agree that adherence to the Nine Noble Virtues creates great men. Especially virtues such as truth, honour, and fidelity which American society doesn't seem to hold dear anymore.