American Chutzpah!

I generally ignore the American drug wars, mainly because talking about them raises my blood pressure to an untenable number.  But there are days when the ugliness is impossible to ignore. Today in the Times I read of a drug raid in Honduras, participated in by American drug agents, responsible for the deaths of four innocent people, two of them pregnant women.  Of course, and as usual, American officials dispute their participation, and as always I believe anyone but the "American officials."

Let's be clear, the drug wars exist because of the huge numbers of Americans, rich, poor, black, white, young, old, who take drugs and demand access to drugs. Yet we wage war on the countries who supply the drugs. Why shouldn't they meet market demand? Aren't they, in fact, good capitalists?--shouldn't they be beloved of Americans in general and Republicans in particular. Isn't this what America is about--a market economy.

I understand completely why so many outside this country hate us. We demand drugs, then blame those who fill the demand. There's only one solution to the drug problem in this country. Legalize drugs, all drugs. The demand grows expodentially, the killings increase, our prisons fill up, and we still refuse to acknowledge it's not any one's fault but ours, not Columbia's, not Mexico's, not Asia's.  If our children take drugs, we must look within ourselves and our culture for the reasons. I'm reminded of a quote from Shakespeare (admittedly, I'm always reminded of a quote from Shakespeare):

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves . . ."

Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141)