[acb-hsp] A Visit to Paulsville

[peter altschul]

Hi:

As one who sends many of the articles in question, my goal is to 
provide articles from all political perspectives.  Legalization 
or decriminalization of drugs are supported by some on both the 
"right" and "left."

Best, Peter



> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Jennifer Harnish" <jharnish at rcn.com
>To: "'Discussion list for ACB human service professionals'" 
<acb-hsp at acb.org
>Date sent: Tue, 10 May 2011 12:18:06 -0400
>Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] A Visit to Paulsville

>I  am relatively new to this list.  While I  have appreciated the 
content of
>most articles that have been distributed, such as the most recent 
together
>counts article, I  am wondering if this list has a  particular 
political
>leaning of which those signing on to it should be aware? While 
the editorial
>below certainly presents a  number of points of view that might 
be of use to
>a  service provider, I  am uncertain as to whether its clearly 
politically
>biased nature makes it the appropriate content for this list.  
Surely there
>are well researched articles that would be of use on topics such 
as drug
>abuse prevention and treatment that would serve the readers of 
this list far
>more usefully in their professional work? Or if politically 
motivated
>editorials are presented, should all sides be represented in 
order to
>promote informed discussion on the list?
>Thank you,
>Jennifer Harnish
>Clinical Psychologist
>Boston area
>-----Original Message-----
>From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On 
Behalf Of
>peter altschul
>Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 10:49 AM
>To: Acbhsp
>Subject: [acb-hsp] A Visit to Paulsville

>A Visit to Paulsville
>  Michael Gerson
>  WASHINGTON -- Before last week's South Carolina Republican 
debate, Ron
>Paul supporters complained that their candidate was not getting 
the
>first-tier attention his polling and fundraising should bring.  
It is true
>that Paul has often been overlooked and dismissed, as one might 
treat a
>slightly dotty uncle.  But perhaps some first-tier scrutiny is 
deserved.
>  Paul was the only candidate at the debate to make news, calling 
for the
>repeal of laws against prostitution, cocaine and heroin.
>The freedom to use drugs, he argued, is equivalent to the freedom 
of people
>to "practice their religion and say their prayers."
>Liberty must be defended "across the board." "It is amazing that 
we want
>freedom to pick our future in a spiritual way," he said, "but not 
when it
>comes to our personal habits."
>  This argument is strangely framed: If you tolerate 
Zoroastrianism, you
>must be able to buy heroin at the quickie mart.  But it is an 
authentic
>application of libertarianism, which reduces the whole of 
political
>philosophy to a single
>slogan: Do what you will -- pray or inject or turn a trick -- as 
long as no
>one else gets hurt.
>  Even by this permissive standard, drug legalization fails.  The 
de facto
>decriminalization of drugs in some neighborhoods -- say, in 
Washington, D.C.
>-- has encouraged widespread addiction.
>Children, freed from the care of their addicted parents, have the 
liberty to
>play in parks decorated by used needles.
>  Addicts are liberated into lives of prostitution and 
homelessness.
>Welcome to Paulsville, where people are free to take 
soul-destroying
>substances and debase their bodies to support their "personal 
habits." But
>Paul had an answer to this criticism.  "How many people here 
would use
>heroin if it were legal? I bet nobody would," he said to applause 
and
>laughter.
>Paul was claiming that good people -- people like the Republicans 
in the
>room -- would not abuse their freedom, unlike those others who 
don't deserve
>our sympathy.
>  The problem, of course, is that even people in the room may 
have had sons
>or daughters who struggled with addiction.  Or maybe even have 
personal
>experience with the freedom that comes from alcohol and drug 
abuse.  One
>imagines they did not laugh or cheer.
>  Libertarians often cover their views with a powdered wig of
>18th- and 19th-century philosophy.  They cite Locke, Smith and 
Mill as
>advocates of a peaceable kingdom -- a utopia of cooperation and 
spontaneous
>order.  But the reality of libertarianism was on display in South 
Carolina.
>Paul concluded his answer by doing a jeering rendition of an 
addict's voice:
>"Oh yeah, I need the government to take care of me.  I don't want 
to use
>heroin, so I need these laws."
>  Paul is not content to condemn a portion of his fellow citizens 
to
>self-destruction; he must mock them in their decline.  Such are 
the manners
>found in Paulsville.
>  This is not "The Wealth of Nations" or the "Second Treatise on
>Government." It is Social Darwinism.  It is the arrogance of the 
strong.  It
>is contempt for the vulnerable and suffering.
>  The conservative alternative to libertarianism is necessarily 
more
>complex.  It is the teaching of classical political philosophy 
and the
>Jewish and Christian traditions that true liberty must be 
appropriate to
>human nature.  The freedom to enslave oneself with drugs is the 
freedom of
>the fish to live on land, or the freedom of birds to inhabit the 
ocean --
>which is to say, it is not freedom at all.  Responsible, 
self-governing
>citizens do not grow wild like blackberries.  They are cultivated 
in
>institutions -- families, religious communities and decent, 
orderly
>neighborhoods.  And government has a limited but important role 
in
>reinforcing social norms and expectations -- including laws 
against drugs
>and against the exploitation of men and women in the sex trade.
>  It was just 12 years ago -- though it seems like a political 
lifetime --
>that a Republican presidential candidate visited a rural drug 
treatment
>center outside Des Moines, Iowa.  Moved by the stories of 
recovering young
>addicts, Texas Gov.  George W.
>Bush talked of his own struggles with alcohol.  "I'm on a walk.
>And it's a never-ending walk as far as I'm concerned. ...  I want 
you to
>know that your life's walk is shared by a lot of other people, 
even some who
>wear suits."
>  In determining who is a "major" candidate for president, let's 
begin here.
>Those who support the legalization of heroin while mocking 
addicts are
>marginal.  It is difficult to be a first-tier candidate while 
holding
>second-rate values.
>  Michael Gerson writes a twice-weekly column for The Post on 
issues that
>include politics, global health, development, religion and 
foreign policy.
>Michael Gerson is the author of the book "Heroic Conservatism" 
and a
>contributor to Newsweek magazine.
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