Climate change isn’t the only judgment problem environmentally and socially speaking. Moral and other issues involving free will to make wrong choices are reflected in the overall decline of the ecosphere, wildlife, mass extinction etc stemming from the failure for political economy to implement ecological economics principals and practices. Perhaps society is too comfortable in habitual dopeyness. The dream world continues… for a while.
I wrote much of this post in various replies to a fellow who was seriously advocating for legalized illegal drugs, against the war on drugs and for the benefits as he saw them of all of the drugs, alcohol and tobacco of society. It is self-standing.
Decadence has been with societies since the advent of civilization. Doped brains are degraded, deoptimalized brains. Sub-par thought that is currently reinforced socially with illegal drugs may be ubiquitous and endemic in subcultures of America.
A list of problems caused by drug and alcohol use could go on for volumes. Consider just a few; 150,000 annual U.S. lung cancer deaths, “Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years” -quote from CDC., appx. 70,000 annual drug overdose deaths in the U.S.A., liver disease, lost time at work, most people in prison had drug and or alcohol problems when perpetrating crimes costing tens of billions of dollars to society.
Making the world work well isn’t that difficult yet too many fail the challenges environmentally and politically that turn up in global warming, mass extinction of species, regressive taxation, vast public debt, concentration of wealth and declining morality; humanity needs to do better. Illegal drugs countercyclically support mass corruption. The Presidential candidates of the Democrat party, for example, are a joke. Sanders and Trump may be honest socialists or capitalists, yet no candidate is competent with ecological economics; no not one. Neither has anyone a plan to pay off public debt and transition the political economy to one of ecological economics within a free enterprise paradigm.
Not too much can be said for a society that need be smarter and work together better with sobriety and whatever degree of abstemiousness they can manage without the crutches of dope yet prefer to hang out in the haze of dope, fake highs of catnip like delusions and bottle supplied forgetfulness of cell-killing alcohol. To develop a better political economy founded on principles and practice of ecological economics will require the moral rectitude of Moses in the desert eschewing temptations and for Americans withstanding the perils of indolence inducing prosperity.
Human health and brain chemistry are best in a natural state. Some exceptions for the purpose of conserving or restoring health exist of course. Good health is good health. Few have shown that tobacco inhalants improve athletic lung capacity and performance. marijuana uses impairs at least short term memory.. Hallucinogens have not been shown to improve motor skills or increase spatial reasoning. One probably would not like aircraft designers nor other advanced technical production to be much influenced by mind-altering drugs. Maybe 90% of motorcycle fatalities have some alcohol in their blood. The cost to society is very, very high for drug and alcohol use, yet of course some have always supported such things for various reasons.
I
talked with a fellow that treated meth addicts once; he mentioned that
they seem to be on recovery and failure cycles yet generally return to
dependence. They often die young and to a certain extent live degraded
lives. I prefer that people be healthy and women not pathetic with arms
like twigs.
Like
the bell curve it may be that just a minority actual prefer entirely
sober lives and most people; the masses, enjoy a dumbed-down existence, I
cannot say.
Puritans
were actually quite good people; they came from the reformed church
movement of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others and advanced society
quite a lot in my opinion. Protestantism was a prime factor in the U.S.
Declaration and political ideas of the founders; some people have
forgotten or never knew much of western history.
Some regard altered states of the brain as unhealthful. Mass drug use for recreation and addictions have altered the course of history; it is not just a subjective thing personally experienced without effect on others.
For example, the Opium wars of the west to force China to allow opium sales and distribution changed Chinese history. The Chinese were experiencing mass addiction and fought to stop that.
Some have always supported illegal drugs and other illicit substances. That’s just the way it is. Some supported slavery and so forth.
Regarding taxes; if America was really fully dopey wealthy corporations would probably control the dope market and avoid paying taxes. Tax dollars would be used to pay for addiction recovery, crime compensations and so forth.
Legitimate medical uses of controlled substances was something I stipulated was o.k. My point about mind altering drugs, alcohol and tobacco being antipathetic to human and social well being is just what it is. extrapolating various inferences from that regarding other material goods that should be outlawed, or are, such as p.j.s that catch on fire easily, or shoddy electrical cords that cause death too readily, cars that are sold with bad break inspections, office buildings, bridges and dams that collapse because of bad construction material and so forth is a broader field beyond the narrow scope of just illegal drugs and legal libations plus tobacco.
Human health and brain chemistry are best in a natural state. Some exceptions for the purpose of conserving or restoring health exist of course. Good health is good health. Few have shown that tobacco inhalants improve athletic lung capacity and performance. marijuana uses impairs at least short term memory.. Hallucinogens have not been shown to improve motor skills or increase spatial reasoning. One probably would not like aircraft designers nor other advanced technical production to be much influenced by mind-altering drugs. Maybe 90% of motorcycle fatalities have some alcohol in their blood. The cost to society is very, very high for drug and alcohol use, yet of course some have always supported such things for various reasons.
Some don’t know the difference between Pilgrims and Puritans. In England they were quite similar as Calvinists, yet Pilgrims became separatists from the Church of England and some left with the Mayflower to America while Puritans remained loyal to the Church of England and only left for America when they were persecuted by Charles I. An article on the difference notes that Massachusetts Puritans; ”set the intellectual tone of the nation for three-hundred years”.
https://www.newsweek.com/whats-difference-between-pilgrim-and-puritan-397974#:~:text=
The world does not seem boring to me. One can always ind something interesting to do; from reading a book to volunteering for the Peace Corps or helping to treat people with dangerous viruses in Africa, if one has that ability. I liked jumping out of planes; it is exciting and makes the heart pump faster. I was an army reservist at the time so I felt it had some inherent utility value in case of war. Sailing or taking a small power boat (even rowing) in large waves can be white-knuckle exciting. I like motorcycles and only spilled a small one (250 cc) three or four times on ice or wet surfaces yet never found that exciting. Auto insurance is too costly and repairs on cars too high for my budget so I like motorcycles now and then.
Once when an engine seized and the wheels locked while going 60 mph I had a few seconds of exciting suspense waiting for the motorcycle to skid to a stop. Maybe driving a car fast fast is exciting. That could endanger others though. Going head first over bicycle handlebars to scrape one’s chin on the pavement happens so fast it’s hard to describe that as exciting.
Taking a smallish boat i.e 20–25′ can be quite exciting. If one is really in need of excitement one could sail across the Atlantic. Finding a way through the waves can be quite challenging and the penalty for capsizing rather severe,
Scuba diving can be exciting yet I found that calm is harder to achieve and more valuable in many activities than becoming excited. Some times one can be busy and resting between activities is more sought after than excitement. I cannot imagine doing anything under the influence of alcohol or drugs that is normally dangerous.
Recreational use of hills with snow and ice on them can provide exciting hiking opportunities. Hanging by a grip on a shrub on a steep edge after slipping through wet muskeg and bushes can be momentarily exciting. A view from a hike can bring some satisfaction too. Spotting a brown bear that has spotted you too can be interesting.
Writing a book and completing it can be exciting, or winning a bid on ebay etc. Reading science and developing better understanding is somewhat exciting, as is the prospect of eternal life with God and the Son beyond the exciting time of passing. Good luck with things.
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