The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question.
“Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?”
I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.
I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.
I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity.
I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flowerbeds and cocklebur’s out of dad’s fields.
I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drug problem,The world would be a better place.
THANK GOODNESS FOR THE PARENTS WHO DRUGGED US.
It sounds like you were blessed with parents that knew something about parenting. And that truly is a blessing. It’s unfortunate that the prevailing drug policy in the U.S. which has been an utter failure for the last 35 years has placed all the focus on trying to reduce the supply of drugs. If kids understand life and their place in it, if they’re taught how to figure out its problems and challenges, and if they learn to like and love themselves, drugs and alcohol abuse almost become a non-issue.
But try telling that to the delusional generals in the “war on drugs.” With a 2.6 billion dollar budget slated for 2009, (most of which is for salaries) there’s way too much money at stake for them to care about the real solutions.
Meanwhile, community by community, we wither away.