Drugs, and the people who use them

[2 of 3]

I was driving home last night, and was stopped by a police DUI check. They asked the usual "have you been drinking tonight" and I replied with the usual " I wish" ....but anyway, they had a tow truck there, and were already taking somebody away. It was 7 pm. This amazes me. Do these people never learn? What is wrong with the human brain, that everything we do ends up going to far? Why is there a huge drug problem all over the planet? Why do people start smoking? I mean "duh"..how much education do you need about this stuff? Drug War? We're killing each other for this crap? I don't get it.

[chris]

i wouldn't overestimate the stregnth of the human will to say no to certain stimulants. its easy to fall into a trap of numbness, just tuning out. but tuning out of what? exactly? conversation? reality? any human contact?

i have been guilty of having too much to drink. but i am lucky enough to have a watchfull eye looking out for me. we should all be so lucky. as adults, we have to watch ourselves. my philosophy has been ...as long as its moderation...this includes eating, drinking, whatever.

also, regarding your post. 7:00 crockness? thats a little early for me. i enjoy a drink as much as the next guy. but i have mine at night, in my home. i will not put myself in a postion to have to tell my kids why i won't be living with them and their mother for the next 5 years. one of the perks of growing up and starting a family. you had better have an inkling of responsibilty.

lets not forget that people should be held accountable for their actions. none of that ...well, my mom was mean to me as a kid...if you have broken a law, you should be held responsible. nowadays, people are always pointing fingers in another direction as to why they did something. those who had their cars towed away at 7:00 were busted for either not saying no, or not waiting till later.

[mervap]

Moderation is the key in almost any endeavor...I know exactly where my limit with achohol is: The limit lies somewhere between a 12 oz. margarita and a 20oz margarita.

!2oz.= mellow with just a hint of harmless mischief.
20oz.= mervap the wonder cheeseball.

Anything further is pointless...I don't enjoy being told how mean or stupid I was, and it just isn't worth the trouble. I gotta think that those officers had a tip or something...7:00? Dang...did they have anybody locked up yet?

[2 of 3]

Well, if they tow your car away, you are in big trouble I would expect.

So, you guys know your limit, and stick to your guns...good for you. But my question was more towards the people who are just out of control. I mean really, how the heck to you get hooked on heroin? Who in their right mind decides to try that stuff? How sad does you life have to be, to want to get as far away from reality as possible?
I'm still perturbed by the young guys I work with. I ask what their plans are for the weekend, and the answer is " get drunk". Yeah, ok. Hey, I was young once, and yeah, that was the same mentality when I was a young pup. But you know what?...the guys who did that as kids...still can't wait to get drunk now. It's not a couple of beers after work anymore....it's as many as you can get into yourself before you fall asleep. I see more and more people with this self destructive personality...and it's kind of scary.

[chris]

i know some of those guys too. but thay are exactly the same as they were when they were 23 ears old. still not married. still working at a gas station. still renting a one bedroom apartment. still taking two steps forward and three steps back on their "walk" home from the bar. they just stopped growing, evolving...whatever. and the really stupid part, they look at me, and shake their heads, as if it is them that lives the life of royalty...and they pity me for having to go home to my family.

clearly getting married doesn't make someone a superior person. either does having a good job. but as time goes by, i think (usually) people change too. because life is change. life should change they way you talk, think, see things. that is what experiencing things does to you. maybe these people don't want to change. maybe they think they are happy. or...maybe they don't know they are miserable. they obviously don't know they are being self-destructive.

and sorry mervap, 2 of 3 and i ordered you a 24 oz margarita. and we have the camcorder...

[mervap]

I know lots of guys like that and I always ask why they do it...the answer is something akin to, "Just having a good time." I'll admit to having had some fine times doing things socially that included drinking, but I have had far more good times while sober...and best of all, I remember them! Some folks have that gene that when they find something they like, they want it by the bucketload to the exclusion of all else. I had a friend in a band with me years ago (more than I care to admit!) whose sole objective after work was to get plastered. His whole life revolved around it...and, by extension, so did mine...it was so sad. He was a fine and energetic fellow at work and playing while sober, but those times got fewer and fewer. It got so bad we couldn't keep others in it...when you are a huge rock star, such behavior used to be just normal. When you're playing in a semi-pro band (emphasis on semi), it's pathetic and self-destructive. I was always amazed at his ability to disconnect his actions (drinking) from the consequences (arrests, no friends, no band). Maybe there are a lot of people like him in the world. Of course, this is just one little corner of the whole freedom/responsibility subject.

Well, guys, at least I'll be among friends who'll be sure to take away the keys! (and keyboard!)

[2 of 3]

Yeah mervap...you picked a bad day to wear the star trek jammies under your work cloths.

[mervap]

Sir, to have expected otherwise would have been most illogical.

[mr h atom]

on the other hand: part of the problem will always lie with the 'lets not 'oprah-ize' the thing attitude...
yeah, on one hand, chris and 2 are entirely correct: pull yourself , laddie and act like a civilized cretin..
but, that sort of mumbo jumbo doesn't get at the fact that there is a real, all pervading problem: and it is in every stinkin' society..
and everyone digging their head in the sand and calling for nothing more than personal responsibilty, as if is the oncoming rage: the be all-end allsolution and...so far, it has gotten us absolutely nowhere for the past 2000 or so years, now has it...

i, personally, think it is the single most indicative fact around as tothe absolute failure of 'religion' to get the 'message' of life right.

take the catholic church...(please !)...just kidding..they still stubbornly stick to the dogma of priests needing to be celibate..not married: bullhonky !
IF the holy see woke up and realized that is this sort of misreading of gods intent that has directly led to both an inordinant amount of drunken catholic priests and and growing realization that ..heck..alot of priests ARE NOT remaining ceilbate (if you know what i mean) that is at the crux of so many issues..
and, i'm not gonna pick on just the catholics..
oh, no...look at the babtists...
their decision, a few years back to once again requrie women to be...somewhat less than equal to men has led to a major split...
look at the episopalians...once the single most progressive order, now mired in a useless battle over dogmatic interpretation...WHATEVER happened to GOD making the judgements...

and, if you think about it..all these issues relate directly to 'sex' or, more importantly, our 'sexual nature' as human beings

and, from there it just goes on and on...if we can't agree on those sort of integral things...how can we agree on anything else...and once you realize you're living in a stew of chaotic phlegm...what choice is there but to a) tough it out...or b) get plastered and forget about it all

c'mon...we are drowning our sorrows everyday..escaping the fact that NO ONE will give us a straight answer that actually makes real sense...

one of the things to keep in mind...alot of folks who can't, or won't , drown their sorrows, or passions, in a pint or two...instead go and buy guns...or bombs...and do much worse things

in think..in the end we all need IS luv !
all we need is to just get....um....horizontally appropriate with a friendly acquaintence instead of horrifically challenged by a faceless foe

[mervap]

Who was it that said that all actions are motivated by our need to love and be loved? Was that Freud? Maybe...It really is kinda true, right? While that need doesn't exclude one from having to obey common law, it does give a glimpse into what drives them to disobey it. I'm sure every one of us has been motivated by that need for love into doing things they would NEVER otherwise do (maybe a bad relationship?)...the world is littered with stories about people who kill, maim and destroy people and things....all for want of that feeling...and when drugs and/or alchohol become a substitute for real love, the same consequences will occur. Are we a less loving society than we need to be? Or can this all be laid at Mama's & Daddy's feet? Will Venus and Mars ever be alright tonight? The answer is too complex because human nature is unpredictable...I reckon some folks are just wired differently than the masses and will never toe a societal line...
As for your religious line, I gotta agree...kinda like the difference between 'religious' and 'spiritual'...some folks don't see a difference there at all. Personally, I see a big difference...'religion' is dogmatic, restrictive and judgemental. 'Spiritual' is less a judgemental stance and more of an example-driven model. I have met many 'spiritual' people in churches, don't get me wrong...I'm speaking more to the organizations of 'religion'...Python's "The Life of Brian" was a splendid satire of the way some 'religions' get it twisted, often quite unintentionally...the whole "blessed be the cheesemakers" scene just rips me in half!

Of course, Mr. Atom, one has to be careful with your last bit of advice...those could turn out to be the same person...Right, Mac?