Howling for Addicts:
Our prisons are filled. Our media culture hypes rage. Mental health and counseling programs seem to be non-working or non-existent. Many have “mis-learned lessons” from Ken Kesey's “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and film adaptation thereof, often leading us to end, not only bad treatments, but all treatments.
If what we seek is to facilitate the enlightened evolution of civilizations that are stable, sustainable, and amenable of surpassage, then experience indicates that mere counseling of addicts does not work. Prohibiting use of illegal drugs upon pain of increasing rates of imprisonment does not work. Closing mental health facilities does not work. Offering free, clean drugs does now work. Supporting artificial environments for facilitating the genetic and cultural drag of co-dependent, victim-mongering addicts and claimants of welfare and entitlements does not work. Church sponsored “love” programs do not work. AA generally seems not to work.
So, I find myself wishing Paris Hilton would take time from helping us towards energy independence, instead to apply her obvious skills to teach our egghead academics, mental health experts, judges, and politicians what obviously needs to be done in order to fix our safety net for all manner of addicts.
I have some ideas. They do not revolve around money-throwing, entitlements, reparations, race-baiting, or divisive blame-games. More later.
See continuation above, in "Walden 3 For Addicts."
2 comments:
Years ago, my alcoholic brother and sister in law were gunned down by my slow functioning, then teen-aged nephew, after he overheard them essentially wishing they could be free of Earth. Said nephew’s younger brother has now been living as a street addict for nearly 20 years. I wire him money regularly. He has tried various programs, but what he really needs is long-term, forcible rehabilitation.
My sister has been a stage 3 alcoholic now for at least 5 years. The pain caused to her family, herself (and her liver) is quite horrible. She lives off alimony, spending most of what is not required for food and shelter on alcohol. She has been in detox facilities at least 5 times and incarcerated at least twice. We have tried confiscating her car keys and various kinds of family intervention. But what she really needs is long-term, forcible rehabilitation.
During her last incarceration, I wrote the Sheriff, advising that it would be more humane and far more socially responsible to either send her to a “24/7” long term rehabilitation facility or at least to keep her locked up for another 6 to 9 months. Instead, she was let to know that she could get a good probation deal if she retained her own attorney. She declined, letting it be known that she needed longer to dry out. Apparently, the County Jail grew tired of paying for her board and room, and the Judge offered her probation. She again told the Judge she needed extensive rehabilitation, or at least to serve out her time. Wanting to save money for the County, the Sheriff made her a trustee, so that, with “good time,” the Judge was able to toss her out early. Again, she promptly returned to drinking and driving.
Other relatives and friends have their own addiction problems. This is just my experience, which, apparently, is far from atypical.
As near as I can tell, AA is mainly a social club for facilitating excuses and opportunities among addicts.
See http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-billionaires1-2008nov01,0,5761563.story.
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