The most destructive recreational drug on earth is alcohol, but the power and politics of it creates a heartbreaking toll.
Up to 17,000 innocents are slaughtered by drunk drivers, many times more maimed and crippled.
Our attitude towards this particular, powerful drug, that no one needs even a drop of, is the same as if AIDS were an epidemic and society and politicians had no real interest in a cure.
Why is this drug that makes people irrational, uncoordinated, et al, sold and used at remote locations where users get to decide their fitness to drive back to where they reside?
When a user gets in their vehicle, it is a game of Russian Roulette for every man, woman, child and baby on their route. But, almost as tragic as all those slaughtered, are all the good, honorable, caring people who lost their reasoning power and ended up killing or seriously harming an innocent. When good people kill someone, two graves are dug, and many times more good people made to suffer.
Most of the DWI/DUI death and destruction is preventable. Preventable deaths like Mel's, out walking his dog, or Brandi's, delivering Girl Scout cookies, or Gary's, walking home from bowling, or Brian's, after he pushed his girl friend to safety, or a fathers, of two out jogging, or a woman walking with her friend. Vicious, calculating criminals did not take those previous lives - good people did.
This societal insanity must end now. Up to 50 innocents are slaughtered each day!
The solution is simple, but sadly most users and politicians won't allow it to happen or even be debated: Let people use all the alcohol they desire, but only where they reside - delivered there like pizzas, flowers, medicines, et al. Shouldn't every caring person demand that inconvenience, even if it saved only one innocent's life. But alcohol has horrendous, frightening power over society and politicians.
And, our love and acceptance of this unneeded, harmful drug, harkens back to the time when innocents were regularly slaughtered on altars simply because it was part of a society, a culture.
Isn't it time to end this modern form of human sacrifice? One can only imagine, especially at this time of year, the heartbreak of surviving loved ones.
Henry J. Halm
Auburn
Our attitude towards this particular, powerful drug, that no one needs even a drop of, is the same as if AIDS were an epidemic and society and politicians had no real interest in a cure.
Why is this drug that makes people irrational, uncoordinated, et al, sold and used at remote locations where users get to decide their fitness to drive back to where they reside?
When a user gets in their vehicle, it is a game of Russian Roulette for every man, woman, child and baby on their route. But, almost as tragic as all those slaughtered, are all the good, honorable, caring people who lost their reasoning power and ended up killing or seriously harming an innocent. When good people kill someone, two graves are dug, and many times more good people made to suffer.
Most of the DWI/DUI death and destruction is preventable. Preventable deaths like Mel's, out walking his dog, or Brandi's, delivering Girl Scout cookies, or Gary's, walking home from bowling, or Brian's, after he pushed his girl friend to safety, or a fathers, of two out jogging, or a woman walking with her friend. Vicious, calculating criminals did not take those previous lives - good people did.
This societal insanity must end now. Up to 50 innocents are slaughtered each day!
The solution is simple, but sadly most users and politicians won't allow it to happen or even be debated: Let people use all the alcohol they desire, but only where they reside - delivered there like pizzas, flowers, medicines, et al. Shouldn't every caring person demand that inconvenience, even if it saved only one innocent's life. But alcohol has horrendous, frightening power over society and politicians.
And, our love and acceptance of this unneeded, harmful drug, harkens back to the time when innocents were regularly slaughtered on altars simply because it was part of a society, a culture.
Isn't it time to end this modern form of human sacrifice? One can only imagine, especially at this time of year, the heartbreak of surviving loved ones.
Henry J. Halm
Auburn
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beenthere wrote on Dec 11, 2006 12:54 PM:
taxpayer1 wrote on Dec 11, 2006 11:01 AM:
Coop wrote on Dec 10, 2006 10:07 PM:
taxpayer1 wrote on Dec 10, 2006 3:34 AM: