WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS
The latest anti drug ad is troubling. It features a tragic incident that results from a bad reaction from a “passive” Meth user who lives next to a Meth lab. It is supposed to warn us about the dangers of Meth. However, we must accept the following preposterous assumptions:
1] This is a typical – not freakish – incident.
2] The reactor is a peaceful person of good will.
3] The Meth was the primary – if not sole – cause of the incident.
4] This is why Meth is illegal.
It should be noted that Meth was never produced outside of professional labs – until it was banned. Production is way too risky and costly – unless the profit margins are huge. Thanks to current drug policy they are. It was never smoked before being banned – but that is irrelevant since vapors would permeate from any lab without the proper safeguards.
The most troubling aspect of this ad is how the sponsors are so eager to blame misconduct on drugs. Using drugs will NEVER cause someone to act with reckless disregard to personal moral principles. The same principle holds true for those under the influence of hypnosis. Using drugs will drop down social barriers imposed by society and peer groups. It may lead to nudity and casual displays of affection that are socially discouraged – but will not cause acts of violence or theft in someone who has moral principles against violence and has respect for personal property.
This is why people of faith with strong moral principles have next to no problems with drug abuse and crime when using drugs. This isn’t a faith based on a supreme judgmental authority figure. It is a faith based on a transcendent figure who teaches us how to minimize or avoid the inherent judgment that comes with every day decisions. It is a living faith that makes sense and not one based on arbitrary dogma dictated by authority figures.
The actual person depicted in this ad probably plea bargained his misconduct on the simple plea: the Meth made me crazy. Meth would never make Jesus crazy. Nor would it adversely affect any number of principled people. It would be used as a short-term solution to energize until the better solution of adequate sleep was available. More likely it would not be needed at all by people with righteous priorities.
Repent and sin no more is the mantra of Jesus with regard to sin. That means admission of personal responsibility. Today our media readily defers this responsibility. The terrorists made people crazy in Abu Graib and caused rampages by military and private contractors. Al Qaeda caused the Bush administration to launch a full frontal assault on our constitutional protections. MacDonalds and Burger King cause rampant obesity in our own populations. Marlboro causes cancer. Poverty causes educational deficits. And Chevrolet and Ford cause massive carbon emissions by producing larger cars [and forcing them on the US public?]. Until we accept personal responsibility for our errant decisions we concede responsibility – and power – to those around us. We can never be free until we repent. Once we do repent we become virtually omnipotent – especially if we “sin no more”.