U.S. DRUG USERS ARE THE REAL TERRORISTS

In Vietnam we fought to stop the domino effect of totalitarian communism.
It was a "disastrous episode in American history," which conservatives
still defend as "acting according to our principles and traditions" even
though we were "terribly wrong," admits Robert S. McNamara. If we can say
openly and finally, "American leadership overreacted, killing millions of
innocent Southeast Asians and tens of thousands of its own citizens," then
perhaps we can avoid the tradition of jumping into Columbia's civil war.

We might look at Homeland Security differently if we realized that we are
our own terrorists. Not the coca growers. Burning or spraying herbicides is
like burning books for disagreeable content. The cocaine growers and
distributors are no more evil than Hiram Walker. So who are those
terrorists? Clearly the users! Us! Good ol' citizens of the USA.

The civil war in Columbia involves its own traditions and values. The drug
culture in America has its own "me first" values. Isn't it always easier to
see the mote in the other guy's eye? It's also easier to fight wars on
foreign soil. Drive-by shootings, gang wars, exploding meth labs - we have
our own civil war already. But it gets messy at home.

Curtis Langdon

Sparks