Axes

The other night Alicia and I were discussing what we feel to be outdated drug laws. She asked me the age-old question of why certain drugs - namely pot, coke and dope - are illegal while others - tobacco, booze and benzos - are condoned. I don't know any full answer but I sure have my opinion. There are many explanations that delve into the financial benefits from keeping some drugs legal and others prosecutable. But why the vehement War against drugs that really do little harm aside from the social harms that come from trying to hide your addiction from the cops 24/7?

I believe that, deep down, we like a dichotomy of Good vs. Evil in our lives and in our cultures. It doesn't really matter which is which as long as there is something to love and something to fight. We humbly allow our leaders to choose for us the current Evil(s) and then rally behind their wars. I don't blame the leaders - we vote for 'em - nor do I blame human nature. It's just kinda how we are. But that doesn't mean we have to be ignorant about it all.

Similarly, when Bush called Israelis a chosen people the other day, on the same anniversary of Palestinian struggle for independence, I think he was backing the current Good in much of North American culture. Why Israel I am not certain - surely every people is chosen according to their own values and history - but this is the pervailing view, as we must all see daily in news reports. The Evil, naturally, is an array of governments and organisations forming at least one Axis. There is no 'absolute' reason for one of these groups to be Evil while Israel and, say, America, are Good, other than choices we and our leaders have made.

This may seem obvious to the 2 people who actually read this blog but it sure isn't obvious to most people I talk to. Heroin, Hamas and gay marriage are only Evil because we say they are. There is nothing inherently (im)moral about any thing or action in this world. So while I am content to stand by my own personal decisions on what is Good (summer, video games and coffee) and what is Evil (Sam Sullivan, SUVs and mushrooms), I must be honest that nobody ought to share my opinions - they are not worth War but are always worth talking about.