War Between Red and Blue

Not so long ago, in old people's years, there was breathing space in the middle where public discourse could take place without rancor and with the common goal of reaching a cooperative agreement on the way forward.

Much longer ago, a group of colonists believed they were "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ... whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,” as is stated in the Declaration of Independence. They then listed a number of grievances that they felt justified such action.

This document formalized colonial sentiments which had lead to an uprising in the Boston harbor several years earlier. A group of colonists had stormed a British ship and poured the cargo of tea into the sea to protest an unfair tax.

In February, 2021, a young man (Francisco Camacho) wrote a guest column in the Tennessean newspaper comparing the Boston Tea Party to the Capital uprising on January 6, 2021. He concluded "There is but one tangible difference when adjusting for place and time. In one case, the tyranny the mob feared was  real.  In the other, it was a manufactured  fiction."

In another way, they are surprisingly the same. In the eyes of the challenged governments they were both illegal. Insurrection, Revolution and Secession are all threats to the continued existence of a civil union, and no matter how well justified they may be, if the governing entity suppresses the disturbance, their laws apply. And on the other hand, if the troublemakers win, their rules become the laws of the land.

Thus, the bad boy colonists became the good guy patriots of the new United States of America. Perhaps there's another way besides armed conflict to guide a government's evolution into a more enlightened civil society. Perhaps nonlethal resistance could bring about change through the same means they hope rulers would implement to govern humanely and equably.

Expendable

According to the rules of war, children are expendable in the achievement of an important military objective.  What more important objective is there than protecting the future generation. If we achieve our goals while ignoring the young all that remains is a desolate world without hope. 

Is there a way to wage war without killing the innocent? I do not know, that is for the generals to determine. Either way, is the world worth saving if children are expendable?

Them and Us

In the world of barriers there are always them and us. In the land of the U.S. southern border there are the cartels and the Americans. The cartels bring drugs they promise will make us happy, have a good time, party on. The innocent citizens think there is a trouble-free pill that can make life fun and then it's back to work. The predators are hunted as ruthless criminals only in it for the money. The prey are just living their lives looking for ways to make life bearable.

Illicit drugs make up a multi-billion dollar economy. The market place is the street and the purveyors are the U.S. residents acting as retail agents busting the bags of whole-sale chemicals into easily consumable products that can be sold at a good markup. The consumers are young kids, career professionals, just about anyone interested in a good time.

In a market economy the wheels are driven by supply and demand. Without demand there is no need of supply. If no one bought a packet of drugs then no one would become addicted, no one would die of an overdose and no one would be standing on the street corner hawking their wares. Further back down the line, mules would not be risking incarceration or death to transport bulk drugs across borders. Cartel members would not be fighting for control of the drug flow or murdering the innocent residents of source countries.

A drug induced high is the ultimate goal of the co-dependency between users and dealers. It is the release from pain, frustration, depression, anger, grief, boredom, empty existence that we as people are always seeking. Let's face it, life can be a real drag once in a while. Where can you go, what can you do to fill the void. Is there a book, a blog, a healer with all the answers? Everyone is looking for a path. The first easy path is a pill, a pipe, a needle. Not too expensive at first. Good times are had all around. What's the problem? It's all harmless fun.

With the first swallow, toke, fix, someone dies on the other side of the country or is sucked into the magical river of gold and violence flowing from the pockets of the seekers. Some of us have difficulties in childhood causing trauma, misconceptions, unrealistic expectations, or an inability to fit it. Over time these can grow into intractable life struggles. Very often the help needed to find our way through these problems can be unavailable, unaffordable, or unprovided by those who are normally responsible for giving it.

The one thing that is the most easy to find and that offers some relief from our predicaments is the black market drug trade. All you need is some cash.What would happen if the assistance we are looking for and truly need was as close as the neighborhood drug store, with easy to read signs, directions and options. One size does not fit all, but usually there is a solution for almost everyone. The path is not easy, but if it is consistently and responsibly presented through counseling or commonly agreed upon information portals then our recovery can begin.

One day soon, the bricks of heroin, bales of weed. sacks of fentanyl piling up on the docks awaiting transport to distribution centers will remain unprocessed and be forgotten. The dealers and traffickers will wait in the usual places for the cash to roll it and, as if over night, those hangouts will become deserted and converted into health and well-being centers.