Re: The Second American Civil War

Kennita Watson (kwatson@netcom.com)
Sun, 29 Dec 1996 17:11:10 -0800


I wrote:
>> Also, you may underestimate the strength of bonds
>> of love (familial and romantic), of codependency, even of friendship.
>> "It's their own fault" is disturbingly easy to say.

Michael Lorrey responded:
>This is where the substance is being blamed for the shortcomings in the
>familial relationships. If they weren't screwed up to begin with,
>substance abuse would not be a problem.

So to hell with them? I suppose that if crack is cheap so the people
involved with it only destroy each other, we don't care that the reason
they do so is that they were abused as children (say). It seems to me
that every spirit broken by abuse (with all the attendant psychological
and drug-related problems) is a victory for entropy. It also seems to me
that looking for ways to heal those spirits so people can stand on their
own two feet (as it were) instead of using drugs as a crutch is a more
constructive endeavor for Extropians than circling the wagons or running
people down for behaving weakly or foolishly.

Kennita

Kennita Watson | The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,
kwatson@netcom.com| but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
| members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
| -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_