OCCOM BILL wrote:Anybody notice the poll results at the top of the page? The consensus seems clear every time the subject comes up; so why is there no politician willing to go to bat for the will of the people?
Well, a A2K poll of some 20 or some people can hardly be considered a reflection of the will of the people. Although more people in Nevada voted to legalize pot than to legalize same sex marriage, they still were not in the majority.
I've not finished this thread so perhaps someone has provided a link, but to this point I don't believe I've ever seen a legitimate poll that suggests the majority of Americans are in favor of legalizing drug - not even only pot.
Drugs, including alcohol, are not particularly good for people, and so it is understandable why someone would be reluctant to cast a vote that seemed to be a declaration of support for drugs.
Our government (and let no one kid themselves that this is an issue which is affected by which political party holds power) is not about to give up the War of Drugs because
1) Very few politicians (and none with serious national aspirations) wants to give his or her opponents the loaded weapon of a position in favor of legalization
2) The War on Drugs is an industry. The billions spent on it are going into people's pockets - they don't want it to end anymore than do the drug cartels. What happens to the officials and agents of the DEA if the War comes to an end? They know it will never be "won." Anything who actually believes such an outcome is possible is either ignorant or out of touch with reality. The only way it will come to an end is if there is legalization, and if that occurs, a lot of people will be out of work and deprived of power.
I tried
every drug available during the seventies and enjoyed them all. None of them, however, are worth the associated risks (which is to say the risks of arrest, incarceration and destruction of social status and means). If they were legal to today I would use some, just as I use the legal drug alcohol - with moderation.
As a society, we are almost as conflicted about drugs as we are about sex. What we are truly conflicted about is pleasure, and to some extent its understandable. Too much of anything is not good and it is always pleasure (whether in obvious or subtle manifestation) that drives us to excess.
What we should have is the freedom to choose any behavior or practice that does not harm others, within a society that promotes the virtues of moderation. We have neither.
We have a society that promotes the virtues of excess and a government that intrudes upon our personal freedoms.
Make no mistake though, the issue of legalizing drugs is not so self contained as some would believe or wish.
The more the State cares for the needs of its citizens, the more the State will contend it has a right to control the actions of its citizens.
The Left would have us living in some version of a collective state wherein the misfortunes of the few are born by all. It's not difficult to see the appeal of this notion. In a healthy, vibrant nation spreading the cost of caring for the unfortunate among the majority of the well off is not all that unreasonable. It's the way insurance works.
A well run collective society, however, cannot tolerate practices and behaviors that result in citizens requiring more from the State than they are able to contribute.
The collective is OK with covering for the unfortunate, but can it afford to cover for the self-destructive?
[Of course that is exactly what is happening with socialists states, but that is a discussion for another thread.]
No it cannot and so there is a fair argument for the State to step in and control personal behaviors which, while not having a direct negative impact on anyone, tax the resources of the collective (no pun intended).
As much as we all would like to, we cannot have our cake and eat it too --- at least not for very long.
If drugs are legalized, and they should be, some people will abuse them. If at the same time we want to live in a nation wherein the government (through our taxes) props up all of our human wrecks, then eventually we will find ourselves, as a nation, derailed.
The intellectually honest will appreciate that the principles which support legalization of drugs also demand limited government in all aspects of our lives. Any other take on it is just a call for the government to get out of the way of our hedonism.
Since States do not exist outside of the realm of our individual existence, it is just insane to believe we can ever have a society in which we are free to indulge in all of our appetites and still have the State pick up the tab.
In other words, the modern Liberal vision for America.
"DRUGS"