THE GORED-OX EFFECT

It's interesting how people will often abandon an apparently strongly held
philosophical position when it collides with a real-world issue they care
deeply about.

Over here, we have the left, passionately committed to the federal
government's wisdom and largesse, especially when it comes to support of
"the arts." But then comes Congress, saying libraries and schools that
won't put approved Internet "filters" on their computers won't qualify for
federal help in getting connected to the Internet. Outrageous! howls the
left. This is an issue on which local people have the "expertise" to know
how best to control what children have access to -- there is no federal "role."

And over there, we have the right, which distrusts the federal government
and thinks states and local communities should have more power to decide
their own fates. But then come a few states, led by California, that want
to pass laws allowing for the medicinal use of marijuana. Unacceptable!
thunders the right. Why, this is just an attempt to circumvent the
marijuana prohibition so that everybody can use that dangerous, evil drug.
Besides, these are federal statues involved here -- the states have no
right to supersede the mighty central government.

It's worth noting, on the filtering issue, that no one seems to be arguing
that children should have unrestricted access to everything. The only
question is who is best able to determine what they should see and how best
to get the job done.

And none of the marijuana-as-treatment opponents seem willing to argue that
the drug should never be permitted for legitimate medical needs. They
merely argue that there is no such thing as a legitimate medical need --
anything marijuana can do, a legal drug can do better. Of course, the
marijuana proponents have doctors who testify otherwise, so logic would
dictate that the question bears further investigation.

In fact, a clear appraisal of both issues, rather than an attempt to
determine whose ox is being gored, would suggest that these are areas where
the evidence is likely to become less clear the more accumulated knowledge
is left unexamined. On Internet access and marijuana access alike, there
are legitimate opinions on both sides. Let the debates continue -- and the
federal government tread lightly.