Skip to main content

Root Issues

Recently I applied for a position that requires a great deal of physical labor. It is a temporary position so I figure I shall be ok in regards to my health. As I looked around the room I noticed an absence of males applying for the position. Given the physical demands of the position I would have thought to have seen more males. My county currently has a very high rate of unemployment. I was baffled by the lack of male applicants. However understanding came to me the moment I was told to take a drug test. This company did a same day drug test.

Prior to my applying for the position, I had told a certain male of the opening. This male gave to me reason after reason as to why he had not applied. Each time it was not his fault. Yet as I gave my sample to the lab technician, I understood his issue. Smoking pot can stand in the way of employment. In fact he was kicked out of a job training program for being "hot" on a urine test.

When Nissan came to Mississippi it was alarming the number of qualified applicants who could not pass a drug test. In between the 9 years since Nissan's arrival, one would think the population would have gotten a clue. I have to wonder if Toyota is having a similar issue. Is Mississippi becoming the poster child of the drug culture?

It would be so easy to say unemployment rates are the results in total of Republican policies. In truth some of it lies within our own hands. When we refuse to do the simplest things to obtain employment it stops being a government issue. It becomes an issue of the individual that affects the whole.

I think back to everything I have done to be able to not only get a job but to maintain one. In order to keep the symptoms of a chronic disease at bay, I have sleep in strange positions, eaten certain foods, awaken at early morning hours to work my muscles, and I even went to see a doctor. When I encounter someone who refuses to stop smoking pot to get a job, I am highly ticked off. I am liberal than most. What you do on your time at your home is your business. Pot unlike other mind altering substances is not addictive. In fact chocolate is more addictive than pot. Coffee is more addictive. I have gone,not without pain, days without either chocolate or coffee. I know it is possible to go with pot in order to get a job.

To mitigate this particular issue we must do a few things in my view. Teach the young how to be responsible. Teach children how to see all of the options in any given situation. Stop overloading our children with gifts and unearned income.

My one drug view is to develop tests that measure a certain level if drugs in the body. Some of the things given to me by my doctors to control the chronic disease in my body make it hard for me to drive ( my reason for not taking my meds) let alone function on the job. Current drug tests are too fine in their measurements.

All in all this issue is one that can be corrected. It is one that must be corrected at the root of the matter by each individual.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Take me over the cliff - again

I expect many Americans in my fiscal position are fed up with the GOPs continued fight for the rights of the wealthy to pay less in taxes.  I say take me over the cliff.  I recently found a Twitter account regarding the $250K threshold.   Many of the tweets\RTs where describing the hardships of $250K living.   It is time for a reality check across the board in America.    If the grown-ups were honest about this fiscal mess, they would admit the tax cuts must end for all.  The ending should be in stages to reduce the likelihood of the need for public assistance for working\working-poor families.  Although $250K is different for different parts of the U.S.A it does mean you are not in the ghetto. There is no $250K/individual ghetto in America. If you are reading this posting and you know of such a ghetto, please let me know for I need to move to that state.  If taxes go up for individuals making $250K and above they will not face a n...

Y'all should eat my grits no cheese

It is two days after the GOP primary in Mississippi. We are still laughing at Mitt's attempt to cuddle up to us with cheesy grits and a few y'alls thrown in. In my area of Mississippi it is yaw'all(10 second word). Had he come here expecting us to be able to count to 20 without removing our shoes, he may have been taken a little bit more seriously. I am not sure if Mitt's grits ranks with Bush's "this part of the world" statement after Katrina but it ranks. Truthfully, I enjoy cheese in my grits along with garlic and red pepper. However, I do not think my love of grits, a bowl every morning, makes me Southern. Although I was born in Southern California and partially reared in Southern Wisconsin, I consider myself a full blown Mississippian. Along with keeping my grits to myself, I also speak without care of accent. The fact that I can tell you how to get from Memphis to the Coast without using the interstate or Google says I am from Mississippi. ...

We can not afford tax cuts

After the Senate failed twice to make any headway on tax cuts and UI benefits, I took a little timeout from shouting to be silent. I spent 2 hours and 20 minutes being quiet with my son as we watched Harry Potter. Today, I awaken early to get to the store to buy food to aid in my son’s combat of the season’s first cold. During the shopping and the quiet time, I continued to wonder if maybe I am the one missing something. I do not have the alphabet soup behind my name or statistical knowledge, as do those in the Senate. I may be alone in seeing a crisis where there is none. However, just as I thought to put away the shingle of my blog in favor of teaching public school, I got a retweet of a NY Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/us/politics/05states.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimespolitics). Reading the article I was reminded how, my close to retirement age mother, who has advanced degrees, was laid-off as a teacher under the guise of budget cuts from the state....