FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

I Constantly come across the cliche "the drug war is lost". It is stated
with confidence, as if these five words end all debate and force us
logically to move on from trying actively to stop drug abuse in our community.

I beg to differ on two fronts. First, in a war like a drug war all we can
measure are the casualties. Yet the majority of young people are actually
saying no to drugs. I come across many people who have been rescued from
the front line and have been nurtured back to health, both spiritually and
physically.

Each person who says no and each person who draws back from addiction and
takes the difficult road out of the darkness is a win - and there are tens
of thousands of these wins.

Second, do we fight merely to win? Do we stand up against injustice or
prejudice only if the outcome is assured? Surely the history of human
society points to the fact that the fight against such things as slavery or
apartheid never looked winnable for most of the battle. One quickly
discovers that the Mandelas and the Wilberforces of this world chose to
fight not simply because they thought they could win but because there was
an enemy in the land.

Drugs are an enemy, an evil that destroys like acid the soul and life of
our youth. We must stand up and use everything at our disposal to fight.
This battle may not be ultimately winnable, but it is right.

PHILIP BAKER, senior pastor
Riverview Church
Victoria Park