Dear Editor: Addiction & Politics

Dear Editor,

I broach this subject very carefully, with a bit of hesitation and more than a bit of consternation, because it is a rather touchy one! Addiction! Of late, there has been a lot of talk going around having to do with another touchy subject, Politics. This is one of the two subjects, alongside of Religion, that one should NEVER talk about in bars. Both of these subjects, by the way, are VERY closely related, but that may be a subject for another day.

Addiction; it would seem almost that certain parts of society today have an addiction, not just with politics in general, but in particular with the false notion that, “if we can just get the right person elected...” or “if we could just get back to the Constitution...”

The problem, as should be painfully obvious by now, is not our laws, or even lack thereof; it is people! It is because people, for whatever reason, choose to disregard certain laws that the law itself gets a bad name, if for no other reason than we might not have certain laws if certain people took responsibility for their own actions. For example, if certain people had taken responsibility for the accident they caused, we might not be required to carry insurance on our vehicles. If certain people had chosen to stay home rather than drive while they were under the influence of alcohol, we might not have such stringent drunk driving laws. The list could go on and on.

This addiction to the idea politics will save us is not only false, but it may also be one of the more dangerous ones because it is more insidious than most. Forced obedience only goes so far. If a person obeys the law out of fear of being penalized, there is a problem. When there is talk of enforcing even stricter, more confining laws, then we run into addiction. “Why Addiction?” one might ask. On one hand, we have those addicted to this notion or idea; on the other, we have part of society that seems to have become addicted to the pain of penalization.

This is but one aspect of the addiction which plagues our society. At the heart of the issue is the addiction of society in general to suffering. In short, this might be described as a general feeling of worthlessness that makes one seek punishment, to act in such a way that we justly deserve whatever penalization we receive.

What can be done, then? Well, quite seriously, all we can do is our best. To some, this may look like trying to get the right people elected, while to others it may look like nothing much at all, basically governing themselves while the world goes to hell in a handbasket. No, politics is not the answer, but for now, until people start to govern themselves, it might be the best we can do, for now.

Thanks for listening to my rant and as always, I welcome any civilized discussion on this topic.

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana