Probably it is our human nature. We love to say "no". We love our children as we freely say "no" to them as much as we want... But when we want to say "no" to adults, we need to become The Government.
I think the ability to tell others what to do and what not to do is why people vie for government higher hierarchy. Of course, there is always a good reason. It is for the safety, or well-being, or security, or else…
So we fought drinking, and had Prohibition. Far from glorious 13 years...
We are fighting drugs now, spending unimaginable amount of money, employing the army of people fighting drugs, and yet seeing one celebrity after another dying from overdose…
We all know this is as stupid, as was Prohibition, but collective knowledge does not translate in policy changes. Funny, we hear the arguments about what would happen if we do not fight drugs, while Portugal has answered these questions. But we hold our ears tight, so that we do not hear. And if we do not hear, then it does not exist... and we can keep repeating old crap...
Who wants to get high, will find the way. I will not drink more than I drink even if wine is free. I will not do drugs even if I can buy them in a drug store.
Prohibition of any kind creates more problems than solutions. It is always when the government thinks that they know better, and when they want us to do what they think is good for us (not necessarily doing it themselves, like with Obamacare).
Prohibition was not simply a failure in terms of stopping people from drinking and make the morals of the society higher. No, “the ban resulted in the growth of vast criminal organizations, including the modern American Mafia and various other criminal cliques. Widespread disregard of the law also generated rampant corruption among politicians and within police forces.” It brought damage to the very same morals the ban was supposed to enforce and uphold.
And this is the lesson we should have learned, but we haven’t. Even if our government thinks they know what is best for us, they really don't. They see the shiny moon, but they are oblivious to its dark side.
What if it is ugly?
Image by longhorndave via Flickr.com
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