Tuesday, June 28, 2011
what do we do about drug addiction today? pt.3
I have concluded that twelve step programs are not really going to help me. Statistics from several sources show that AA and NA have a success rate of about 30%. That might actually be generous for it is really hard to get accurate statistics on these programs. But lets just say that its around 30% successful in keeping people sober. My guess is that the 30% is comprised of people who are either religious, had some kind of religious background, or are just so desperate that they are willing to change their beliefs. According to Jerry Dorsman's book How to Quit Drugs for Good, People whose views on philosophy and religion differ greatly from those in the twelve step program will probably not be able to have success remaining clean and sober. This would not be a problem if there were alternatives to AA and NA, but as far as I know there are almost none.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Immigration
Ultimately we do not want borders. Nobody wants borders. Everybody wants a fence free society where borders are not an issue because they do not want the issues that come with it. That's why nobody cares about state borders (unless you count the fruit check). Law enforcement is allowed to cross borders to get serious offenders. The rules that go with it are so minimal that there is really no obstacle in moving between them freely.
But our national borders are a different thing all together. Legal citizens prefer not to think about them. Conservatives make illegal and immoral laws to seem like they are tough. Federal facilities hold thousands of illegals for years before they are ultimately deported. They live in tents in the Arizona deserts. Progressive political thinkers know that this flow of immigration could be lessened if there were economic opportunities for immigrant laborers in their own countries. This too is difficult to accomplish with the majority of our foreign policy personnel focusing on war and energy needs. Our involvement in Mexico takes on a militaristic posture in the form of the war on drugs.
Personally I want to leave this country, and I feel that in an age where travel to all corners of the world is possible that people should be able to go wherever they want. Travel is a privilege, but more and more people are able to do it as we become a more globalized community. Technology and globalization are moving faster than immigration policy can keep up. Places like the European union make travel between its borders much easier for its citizens.
Then there is Dubai, a place that imports workers from all over the world to build its mind blowing sky scrapers. It is documented that this is practically slave labor. But slave labor in a globalized world is different from slave labor in colonial times. They do get paid now, and there is the possibility of returning home again. At the same time, exploitation is happening on a massive scale to where whole villages are being sent to war zones in Iraq or Afghanistan without consent. Our war contractors use this Dubai style labor in order to maintain US standards of living on military bases. Then at least between being sitting ducks in the middle of the desert, American soldiers can get some KFC and go see Transformers in an air conditioned theater (with not subtitles).
Where I am going with this is that the global North can travel freely and without much incident within its own borders. The Global South is also pretty free to travel within its borders, but its people have less means for travel and are more often forced to travel all over the world in order to make enough money for their families to survive. Neither groups of people feel totally comfortable mingling together. But they can. It is possible. I personally would like to live in the global South and try to contribute my labor and abilities to the people without imposing ideas and taking anyone's livelihood. I am going to try next year. It is not easy to do, but it is possible and I want to expand my outlook on life. It is what I need to do. And I support all the other people in the world who for whatever reason feel the need to migrate. It is a natural thing that human beings have always done and despite new global obstacles will always do.
But our national borders are a different thing all together. Legal citizens prefer not to think about them. Conservatives make illegal and immoral laws to seem like they are tough. Federal facilities hold thousands of illegals for years before they are ultimately deported. They live in tents in the Arizona deserts. Progressive political thinkers know that this flow of immigration could be lessened if there were economic opportunities for immigrant laborers in their own countries. This too is difficult to accomplish with the majority of our foreign policy personnel focusing on war and energy needs. Our involvement in Mexico takes on a militaristic posture in the form of the war on drugs.
Personally I want to leave this country, and I feel that in an age where travel to all corners of the world is possible that people should be able to go wherever they want. Travel is a privilege, but more and more people are able to do it as we become a more globalized community. Technology and globalization are moving faster than immigration policy can keep up. Places like the European union make travel between its borders much easier for its citizens.
Then there is Dubai, a place that imports workers from all over the world to build its mind blowing sky scrapers. It is documented that this is practically slave labor. But slave labor in a globalized world is different from slave labor in colonial times. They do get paid now, and there is the possibility of returning home again. At the same time, exploitation is happening on a massive scale to where whole villages are being sent to war zones in Iraq or Afghanistan without consent. Our war contractors use this Dubai style labor in order to maintain US standards of living on military bases. Then at least between being sitting ducks in the middle of the desert, American soldiers can get some KFC and go see Transformers in an air conditioned theater (with not subtitles).
Where I am going with this is that the global North can travel freely and without much incident within its own borders. The Global South is also pretty free to travel within its borders, but its people have less means for travel and are more often forced to travel all over the world in order to make enough money for their families to survive. Neither groups of people feel totally comfortable mingling together. But they can. It is possible. I personally would like to live in the global South and try to contribute my labor and abilities to the people without imposing ideas and taking anyone's livelihood. I am going to try next year. It is not easy to do, but it is possible and I want to expand my outlook on life. It is what I need to do. And I support all the other people in the world who for whatever reason feel the need to migrate. It is a natural thing that human beings have always done and despite new global obstacles will always do.
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