It seems counterintuitive that a country could decriminalize all drugs, and yet, the amount of overdoses in that country decrease over time. About 15 years ago, Portugal did this. You can now have a maximum of a 10 day supply of any drug with no legal consequences there. The 15-24 year old population has decreased their volume of drug usage significantly. In addition to that, drug induced deaths and infections from needles have both also declined. This makes me wonder how these statistics can be true, just from simply giving the people easier, consequence-free access to illegal narcotics. I just think that what makes drugs so popular among teens and young adults is the risk factor. People get an indescribable thrill from doing things they are not supposed to do. When you randomly declare that narcotics are no longer illegal, i think the majority of drug users were eventually discouraged from using because they no longer felt as though they were breaking the rules. This example is living proof that different forms of reverse psychology can be effective. Not that this method is guaranteed to be effective everywhere, but it was a good thing in Portugal. But who knows; it could be equally effective other places as well, considering that drug usage does not seem as cool when everybody can do it without repercussions.
http://wxxinews.org/post/dying-man-s-last-wish-ends-fight-donate-his-organs
It seems counterintuitive that a person could willingly end their life to save the life of another person. A resident of South Orange, New Jersey was nearing the end of his battle with ALS, and wanted to cut his battle short to make his death meaningful in a positive way for somebody else going through their own struggles. He was denied at first, but strongly believed in what he was doing so continued to push the envelope. Approximately 22 people dying per day in the United States while waiting for an organ transplant is an astounding number. This statistic proves how meaningful something like that is, because you know new organs are in high demand for many people. In the long run, they were able to find a match, and the transplant was successful. Nevertheless, it is still crazy to think that this man could fight as long as he did, and technically pull the plug on himself. An act of courage that serious provides hope for humanity now and in the future. Extending another person’s life in the process of losing your own is an incredibly selfless way to die. It has to be extremely difficult to make that decision, but that is the definition of living a purposeful life. The man was able to bring happiness to his loved ones for as long as he could, and then bring the happiness that comes along with saving a life to a family in need.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/05/toms-shoes-buy-one-give-one
It seems counterintuitive that a company can increase their profit margin by giving their product away. Toms shoes claims that for every pair of Toms they sell, they give a par to somebody in need in a developing country. Taking into consideration how cheap it is to make Toms, giving them away does not hurt at all when you look at all of the exposure the company is getting. There are plenty of people that want to help the cause. People see that they help children and need and are immediately on board. The company probably sells them for double or triple what they cost to manufacture, meaning that free pairs still lead to a huge profit on a global scale. Not to be taken out of context, I believe this is a great idea and has helped countless amounts of needy children and families over the years. Nevertheless, it has been discovered that Toms has very limited information on their website regarding how many people they have helped or how many shoes they have sold. Interesting statistics that somebody supporting the cause would love to see, are not there. I have seen pictures of underprivileged children wearing Toms and I know many people have been helped by this, but it is just slightly suspicious why facts like this cannot be seen on the site. Without a doubt, they are a productive and helpful company. But, in a world where everything is a business when it comes down to it, you wonder who actually does things like this for the right ethical reasons. Much like most other companies, Toms would have never started and would not still be here today if they knew they would not be putting money in their own pockets as well.
Rowan Counterintuitive 