Another View of those Immigrants Pouring Over the U.S. Border
Immigrants continue to pour over the U.S. southern borders, most recently concentrated along the Texas border with Mexico. Recently Texas Governor Rick Perry, who may run for President in the next election, announced he will employ 1,000 National Guard soldiers to help restore order along the border. Democrats and Republicans continue to enjoy media attention as they play politics with illegal immigration, of which the recent influx into Texas is but the latest manifestation.
In the midst of all this comes an article worth reading in the Wall Street Journal by its Latin American expert Mary O'Grady which attempts to get beyond the usual politics by referencing a July 8th essay in the Military Times by Marine Corps General John Kelly, who heads the U.S. military's Southern Command. The article, "Central America Drug War a Dire Threat to U.S. National Security," posits that said war compels people to flee from violence, the U.S. being only one of their desired destinations. This tempers - although does not contradict - the claim that Obama was "behind" the recent influx, among other things.
What's really important here, however, are the General's indictment of Americans who use "recreational" drugs in vast quantities. That demand for drugs enriches, and therefore empowers the drug cartels of Central America. The profits from the drug trade cause corruption of government officials. This nasty business involves a high level of violence, which claims innocent victims. The general's article notes:
This isn't "blame America" propaganda, coming as it does from an active senior officer in the military. And it isn't rocket science: You don't need a degree in economics to know that where demand exists, a supplier will typically step in to satisfy the demand. You only need common sense to understand this. And while addiction to drugs isn't the easiest thing to break, those who take such drugs really ought to understand the terrible toll their actions take.
How did so many of our people get to this point? Some blame the 1960s "drug culture" and its aftermath. But that was 50 years ago. Responsibility for the problem of drug use in America must be placed squarely on the shoulders of those who use the drugs, not on the 1960s, or the fact that some come from disadvantaged backgrounds, or the unemployment rate, or the myriad other reasons people come up with to "explain" why people use drugs.
Personal responsibility sits at the core of all this and we ought not make excuses either for ourselves or others. Is legalization the answer to the problem? Some believe this would remove the fantastic profits of illegal drug sales, and therefore neuter the cartels by making it a business not worth the time and effort. There's some logic to this. However, we ought to consider what our society will look like if millions of Americans access drugs legally and walk about our communities in varied states of either torpor or agitation caused by the drugs they take. That doesn't really sound appealing, does it? In fact, we've already got millions of Americans who take prescription drugs to calm their nerves, help them pay attention, relieve their depression, etc. Based on my personal experience with such people, we don't need to add to the rolls of drugged Americans.
So we get right down to the fact that Americans taking drugs - setting aside for the moment those who apparently "need" prescription drugs to get along in life - represent a scourge on not only our own American neighborhoods, but on those neighborhoods in other countries where the drugs are produced or where they are trafficked.
We Americans should face the fact that our drug use creates heartache, violence and death for millions of innocent people. Americans need to stop using drugs.
In the midst of all this comes an article worth reading in the Wall Street Journal by its Latin American expert Mary O'Grady which attempts to get beyond the usual politics by referencing a July 8th essay in the Military Times by Marine Corps General John Kelly, who heads the U.S. military's Southern Command. The article, "Central America Drug War a Dire Threat to U.S. National Security," posits that said war compels people to flee from violence, the U.S. being only one of their desired destinations. This tempers - although does not contradict - the claim that Obama was "behind" the recent influx, among other things.
What's really important here, however, are the General's indictment of Americans who use "recreational" drugs in vast quantities. That demand for drugs enriches, and therefore empowers the drug cartels of Central America. The profits from the drug trade cause corruption of government officials. This nasty business involves a high level of violence, which claims innocent victims. The general's article notes:
...big profits from the illicit drug trade have been used to corrupt public institutions in these fragile democracies, thereby destroying the rule of law. In a "culture of impunity" the state loses its legitimacy and sovereignty is undermined. Criminals have the financial power to overwhelm the law "due to the insatiable U.S. demand for drugs, particularly cocaine, heroin and now methamphetamines, all produced in Latin America and smuggled into the U.S."If you use such drugs, you ought to consider the consequences not only to yourself but to others. And those others include not only your family and friends, but people who live perhaps thousands of miles away. Americans' demand for drugs enhances the power of the evil, violent criminals who comprise the drug cartels.
This isn't "blame America" propaganda, coming as it does from an active senior officer in the military. And it isn't rocket science: You don't need a degree in economics to know that where demand exists, a supplier will typically step in to satisfy the demand. You only need common sense to understand this. And while addiction to drugs isn't the easiest thing to break, those who take such drugs really ought to understand the terrible toll their actions take.
How did so many of our people get to this point? Some blame the 1960s "drug culture" and its aftermath. But that was 50 years ago. Responsibility for the problem of drug use in America must be placed squarely on the shoulders of those who use the drugs, not on the 1960s, or the fact that some come from disadvantaged backgrounds, or the unemployment rate, or the myriad other reasons people come up with to "explain" why people use drugs.
Personal responsibility sits at the core of all this and we ought not make excuses either for ourselves or others. Is legalization the answer to the problem? Some believe this would remove the fantastic profits of illegal drug sales, and therefore neuter the cartels by making it a business not worth the time and effort. There's some logic to this. However, we ought to consider what our society will look like if millions of Americans access drugs legally and walk about our communities in varied states of either torpor or agitation caused by the drugs they take. That doesn't really sound appealing, does it? In fact, we've already got millions of Americans who take prescription drugs to calm their nerves, help them pay attention, relieve their depression, etc. Based on my personal experience with such people, we don't need to add to the rolls of drugged Americans.
So we get right down to the fact that Americans taking drugs - setting aside for the moment those who apparently "need" prescription drugs to get along in life - represent a scourge on not only our own American neighborhoods, but on those neighborhoods in other countries where the drugs are produced or where they are trafficked.
We Americans should face the fact that our drug use creates heartache, violence and death for millions of innocent people. Americans need to stop using drugs.
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