AMERICA AT WAR

While sitting at my computer, trying to type a paper, I began looking
through Instant Messenger away messages because that's what I do about
every 10 minutes when sitting at my computer trying to type papers.

As anyone who partakes in this tradition of procrastination, people love to
post quotes.

A few weeks ago I came across one that got me thinking.

It said, "Americans traditionally love to fight; all real Americans love
the sting of battle." General Patton is credited with that one, and while
in the given context I roundly disagree with him, I think he was on to
something. Let's get beyond the current situation and the fact that the
person who posted that quote would haul-ass to Canada if he ever got
drafted, and take a look at the larger tradition of waging war by our country.

It seems like whenever we have a problem to deal with there is a war to
solve it. The war on terror and the war on drugs are a two of the most
prominent examples.

Sometimes, it is the title used by the government and sometimes it is just
a media description that becomes popular, but whatever the case may be, I'm
sick of it. War, war, war. It's one of those words that gets repeated so
often that the very combination of sounds begins to seem weird, like barnacle.

Barnacle, barnacle Anyway, it's time that something is done about this
horrible phenomenon. I mean, at best, it is a convenient way for
politicians to try to show their commitment to solving a social problem.

But as far as I can tell, it never works.

That's why I want to put a stop to this trend.

To show my zeal for fighting this problem, I am waging war on wars waged
against ideas, practices and inanimate objects. It's going to be a
difficult battle, and it has no end in sight, but trust me, I am as
dedicated to it as the United States is to rebuilding Afghanistan. I shall
not waver, unless my supporters get bored with my effort. As you can see, I
can guarantee success in defeating metaphorical wars, unless someone
declares war on irony.

My first target will be the war on drugs.

By all accounts it seems as as though we are losing, and the price of this
loss is incredible. Billions of dollars, hours upon hours of work by law
enforcement and the lives and livelihoods of millions of people have been
spent.

All the while drug use continues to increase.

Together, the victims of drug abuse and the war on drugs are countless (I
include you as a victim if you have been exposed to any of those asinine
commercials linking drug use to terrorism or smoking pot to running over
kids at the drive-thru).

Marijuana provides a great example of how the war on drugs is failing.
According to the most recent information from the DEA, over half of all
high school seniors have tried marijuana at least once. A CNN/TIME poll
from last year shows that 47 percent of those surveyed had done the same.
Does this strike anyone else as absurd?

The very nature of democracy should prevent a war from being waged on half
of a country's citizens.

Whatever your opinion on drug use is, I think we can agree that something
needs to change.

The war approach is simply not working, and the longer it goes on, the more
time, money and lives will be wasted.

The whole attitude seems to be one of knee-jerk paranoia.

It's not a surprise that most of our drug laws came about during a time
when they were being used as a symbol of the youth counter-culture that
challenged the traditional values of those who were in power.

But now, as those who were raised during that period and undoubtedly
influenced by it are elected, the war on drugs approach is becoming
hypocritical. In fact, during the last presidential campaign many of the
candidates bluntly admitted to former marijuana use, instead of the crap "I
couldn't inhale" offered by people like Clinton and Blago (our current
governor).

Countries in Europe have begun to adopt a more mature approach to the
problem. It's known as a harm reduction model.

It emphasizes treatment instead of punishment and is based on the reality
that all the propaganda and harsh penalties in the world aren't going to
stop drug use, so we might as well try to prevent drug users from hurting
themselves and others as best we can. Until we stop seeing this as a war to
be won instead of a public health problem to be treated, it will continue
to claim casualties as every war does.