MORE TO ADDICTION THAN 'LUST, GLUTTONY'

I read Chris Bours's letter in this space: "Temptation is the root cause of
addiction."(Fri, 17, 06) Trying to follow Buors's tortuous thesis is
maddening. In general, however; he bemoans the general description, in
addiction medicine, of addiction as a "disease." My dictionary, however;
defines "disease" as: "1- any departure from health; illness in general. 2-
a particular destructive process in an organism, with a specific cause and
characteristic symptoms; specific illness; ailment. 3- an evil or
destructive tendency or state of affairs: as, bigotry is a *disease* of
society." Addiction fits perfectly.

That someone, with a manifestly life-threatening condition, should be
described as "diseased" apparently rends Buors's world apart. Why? He
gives no clue of his authority or interest in addiction, we only know
that he wants it put down to personal responsibility, that he thinks
of it as "lust and gluttony." One suspects Buors is an expert on
everything. Some people simply cannot restrain the impulse to share
their superiority with the rest of us. Addicts need our help, deserve
our help, if we be Christian people. If we can bankroll the entire
world we can take care of our addicted family-members. What we call
their condition is irrelevant. I think we should, indeed, leave it to
the medical sciences than to the Chris Buors of the world.

DAVE MICHON

Eau Claire, WI