Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbatt!cbosgd!ucbvax!hplabs!oliveb!gnome From: gnome@oliveb.UUCP (Gary) Newsgroups: net.followup Subject: Re: Re: A new call for ignorance Message-ID: <1173@oliveb.UUCP> Date: Tue, 23-Sep-86 20:59:04 EDT Article-I.D.: oliveb.1173 Posted: Tue Sep 23 20:59:04 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 29-Sep-86 06:19:53 EDT References: <424@hsi.UUCP> Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca Lines: 104 > >> Last night, the Reagans called for a new wave of ignorance. Past attempts >> ... >> 1) The number of drug related deaths is low. ( @500/yr. ) >> ... >> 4) The civil rights of the american public will not be abused. There is >> a necessary variance for the survival of a species. The government seems >> to want to clone idealisms. >> >> I resent the tax dollars I pay to have the government protect >> me from myself. I would say that a large number of people have at least >> tried drugs. I think it is safe to say that these people have not been >> seriously afflicted. Many of our past presidents have taken drugs. >> Teddy Roosevelt and Ullyses Grant took cocaine. What about Tradition? >> >> I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let this maniac >> bring me to my knees. I've got too much love and pride, not necessarily >> as an american, but as a human being, to shut up. >> >> John Williams >> decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-kirk!williams > It's evident that you have an axe to grind, John. But, don't let your > opinion of Reagan and his foreign and economic policies cloud a social > issue that is close to becoming beyond control. "...close to becoming beyond control" could be used for a lot of things. The arms race, the introduction of stupid and anti-constitutional laws, the political system, the use of scare tactics and oversimplification by the president -- they're all close to becoming beyond control. > I felt the Reagan's speeches made the answer sound too simplistic. Throw > enough money around and "poof," the drug problem will go away. Those who > have any real knowledge of the drug problem know this is naive thinking. You bet. > The idea that the 500 drug related deaths each year is a low figure is > rather a cold way to prove a point. No colder than the 23,000 people that die due to drunk driving accidents. > Loss of productivity is far from minimal. An estimated 4-5 BILLION > dollars is lost to business and industry each year due to illegal > drug use. That's a figure that's hard to believe, but even if the > true figure is half that amount, it's easy to see how our economy is > hurt by it. Ok, so to combat it, we'll flush 2-3 billion dollars into guarding our borders from "invading drug smugglers"? Yep, that'll fix the problem. If a company can't follow their production well enough to pinpoint a drugged-out (or even terminally stupid) worker, does that justify the abuses of civil rights that are being proposed? It's another way to offload responsibility to the government. > ... Addiction is the point, not illegal use. Without > addicts who would the pushers sell to? Addiction leads to illegal use. Right again! So, trying to stop the flow won't decrease the number of addicts. It just increases the price (remember, they're addicted)! > You speak of your freedom. With freedom comes responsibility. You are > responsible for conducting yourself in a manner condusive to the good > of your society. That's what I said. The present government is going out of it's way to take that responsibility off the individual and place it in the hands of the police -- or the insurance companies. > What kind of society would we have with who knows > what percentage of the population is walking around stoned? ... > Ever try to talk to someone on Thorazine? It's like talking > to a zombie. If a person gets really heavy into drugs, or alcohol, and will not allow him/herself to be helped into detox', then they will become a statistic. It happens all the time. People who don't take responsibility for their drugs/alcohol/bad driving/stupidity eventually get removed from the gene pool, no matter how many meddling laws are passed to protect them. > What I fear about the current crackdown is that it could turn into a > witch hunt and a lot of innocent people may get hurt. Or thrown in prison, or killed. > I'm sorry that > the Reagans appealed to everyones patriotism and emotions instead of > stating that a serious problem exists and steps have to be taken to > solve it. There was no need to wave the flag and allude to a threat > to "mom's apple pie." > Don Licsak ihnp4!hsi!licsak Normally, these tactics are humorous, but if enough people start getting worked-up, a lot of damage could be inflicted to America's civil rights. And after it's all said and done, the real stopping power is with the people, not the government, not the police. As long as there are people who want drugs (or anything else) there will be a supply. Period. Gary HASA member H - Division (I believe in EIA - Evolution In Action.)