I noticed that the tone of this blog has lately veered from the personal to the realm of current pressing issues. This entry will be no different. There is just so much going on in the world now that bothers me, and even though it is not my objective to polarize people by way of my opinions or be a social media influencer (whatever the hell that means), I feel this need to put my thoughts down as it has proven very cathartic for me to do so.
In short, I'm doing this not for your amusement or attention, but for myself and myself alone.
Among the great many issues floating around today, few have been as enduringly infamous as the so-called war on drugs here in the Philippines. It's actually a good idea if you think about it. The president of a nation declaring an all-out war on one of the most virulent ills of society, promising to use any means necessary to pull it off. Although I do not personally approve of the mounting death toll, I won't exactly call out against it either. Let me explain..
Drugs are a menace to society, period. Drug make people do a lot of crazy things, including heinous crimes like rape and murder. Personalities are destroyed due to addiction, and you are left with a hollow shell that would do absolutely anything and everything to get another fix. This is why you get reports of people killing their parents/grandparents because of the latter's refusal to provide money for drugs. Drug addicts are a scary lot. You have no idea what they are thinking. Previously personable individuals are converted into these monsters who would do violent stuff on a whim, or may easily be set off at the slightest provocation. They could do dangerous things on a simple "trip", causing much harm to themselves and others. I mean, I wouldn't really give a rat's ass if a crazed drug addict commits suicide, but when that act involves an innocent drug-free bystander getting hurt or killed, that's one of the most senseless ways to die in my opinion and thus should be prevented at all costs. The addict is usually beyond redemption, while the innocent bystander could very much be a productive member of society.
Addicts in their drug-fueled states could have no inhibitions or remorse whatsoever, and are thus an ever-present danger to those around them. Then when they wake up from their drug fix behind bars, they act all surprised and horrified at stabbing a baby or decapitating their ailing grandmother. The list of atrocities just goes on and on, and thus I agree that it most definitely is a war.
These substances in question, especially the synthetic ones, serve no true useful purpose to society. They are just created by unscrupulous individuals for the sole purpose of generating a quick buck without any regard for basic human decency of human life in general. I agree that all of this would be able to stop when the drugs are cut off at the source, otherwise the cycle would just continue.
The junkie would continue to commit crime in order to get his fix (think of those who rob peope in broad daylight then stab them as well), which in turn would support the supposed "livelihood" of the pusher/dealer (who turned to peddling drugs in the first place because it was such an easier way to make money than to get an honest job with an unfortunately smaller paycheck). The money trail would then be traced back to the big shots who get all the dough from the manufacturing of said substances, and as always, they also prefer this mode of "livelihood" because it is an easier way to make lotsa money.
So I guess it all stems from the greed of those individuals at the top of the illegal drugs food chain. They are unwilling to let their empires go because it makes damn too much money which would support theit overly lavish lifestyles since they aren't accustomed to simple living. it's just greed, pure and simple.
Imagine a perfect scenario where all the illegal drug manufacturers (along with all their stockpiles) suddenly just turn clean, (or are carted off to hell where they belong, I dont really care). The supplies would dry up. Sure, some addicts who are far gone might not survive the subsequent withdrawal, but the rest of the population would hopefully pick up new decent lives and work together for the development of all. Remember that the drug problem permeates all levels of society, so in addition to the masses becoming more compliant (since drugs are no longer an issue), the people higher up would hopefully take up cleaner pursuits and actually serve the public for once now that they're no longer preoccupied with keeping their trail clean or doing shady dealings with the underworld..
There would be other great effects when humanity as a whole would decide to just drop greed and be more focused on helping everyone else. It's too much of a utopian vision, I know, since these syndicates are too far gone along their path of evil acts that it does not bother them anymore. Heck, I don't think it even bothered them in the first place anyway.. And that makes me sad.. I find it impossible to imagine anyone cooking up this plan to sell poison to people on such a massive scale with all the associated societal ills it would bring. People are capable of effecting massive change and doing great things in the world. The seemingly far-off dreams of a human race maximizing a sustainable environment and exploring what lies beyond the planet is supressed by humanity's inability to just chill out for a moment and see that being collectively selfish ins not good for anyone.
The trend in society today is to place a more intense focus on the individual. Now before I say anything else, I would like to state for a fact that I do not like the idea of communism. Its another extreme that would inevitably destroy people's lives and only works if people are not people.. :P
Everything today seems to be centered on making the individual happy, like feeding our individual egos through seeking hollow approval via social media likes, or promoting this culture of ultra sensitivity or ultra-tolerance. I hate a bigot as much as the next guy, but it is also foul when someone goes the other extreme endlessly pushes this selfish agenda just because of a presumed notion of self-importance and entitlement.
People sometimes laugh at nuggets of wisdom passed along by our elders, but I guess the saying "Too much of anything is no longer good" applies universally given the very basic nature of people. Taking something to the extreme on one end of a spectrum or another is never a good idea and just promotes hatred, friction, and intolerance.
I'm sorry to have been posting such negative stuff lately, but there is just so much I need to get off my chest..
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