so many of our decisions on a daily basis are centered on self. each of us makes decisions every day, balancing them out on a set of scales...how will this help....how will it hurt...how will it be beneficial...how will it be detrimental. for an addict, that sense of balance and self disappears and becomes blurred with their selfishness. they have become caught up in a self satisfying, self pleasing world of the next high or next pleasure. and yes...it is selfish. i understand addiction as much as i possibly could not being an addict. i've witnessed addiction and the devastating effects it has on everyone around the individual addict. i've seen the cost and the toll it takes on the addict. but i've also seen the selfishness and self absorbed dispositiion of the addict and their total disregard for anyone that cares for them, loves them or has an ounce of concern or compassion for their well being.
i think we have to acknowledge the problems of addiction and just how deeply it has become a part of american life today. it is prevelant among the homeless. it doesn't matter whether it was a problem before they became homeless or afterward. a problem as large, dangerous, costly and deadly as addiction has to dealt with when trying for a solution to homelessness. if not.....then you're just taking addiction off the streets and putting a roof over its ugly head. i can see and i can understand why family and friends turn their backs on addicts. make no mistake, at some point in their addiction they will steal, lie, borrow, sell and con you in any way they can to get that next high, that sounds harsh and stereotypical....but it also sounds true. it sounds true because it is. and the addict usually will not help himself. they have to be on the verge of death or danger before that happens.
there is no glory in dying from an overdose. there is no more sadness in a famous person dying from an overdose than there is an unknown, obscure homeless person quietly dying on a park bench from an overdose of heroin or alcohol. both are dead....lives cut short....and the grieving and sadness of those that knew them. it's time to acknowledge that like fighting poverty and homelessness, it's time to take a new look and approach to fighting addiction. like homelessness and poverty there is no universal answer. it's about you and i....caring for and looking out for the individuals. don't look away...don't turn your back...don't say it's not my problem. it's each and every one of our problem. don't wait until someone you know or someone you love dies from an overdose. it's too late then. don't let someone you love become the next phillip hoffman. it's time to call it what it is and deal with it for what it is. it benefits noone. it only kills...selfishly.
see you around town