Our Drug War Next Door

[Comrade Tovya]

akuma587 said:

Comrade Tovya said:

 

You and I are pretty close on this issue really...

You are right in your assertion that the drug war is a waste of money (just like the war in Iraq is valiant in principal, but has been severly mismanaged). 

The problem is not that either war is bad, but really that they not being managed properly.  I think we have jacked around in both wars... I say, either go to war to win it, and go at it full blast, or don't go at all.

Go into Iraq and wreak terror into the hearts of the terrorist, and strike fear into the soul of the cartel, or just don't bother at all.

I think it's similar to the UN distribution of food and medicine to AIDS striken African nations.  I love the concept, it's absolutely valiant and beautiful.  But corruption and pussy-footing around makes .90$ out of every dollar a waste.  So what's the point?  If our goal is not to actually solve problems where they exist, what's the point?  It's a waste of money and resources.

I'd much rather send my money towards feeding starving people than fighting a war in any form, especially one as ill-executed and self-lacerating as the war on drugs.

I don't even really think the war on drugs is valiant in principle.  I think the war on drugs is rooted in xenophobia at its core.  You don't see a war against prescription medication, alcohol, or tobacco.  All of those things have done enormous harm to our society, arguably more than all the illegal drugs combined.  Alcohol and tobacco have certainly killed far more people.

In all honesty, the war on drugs is kind of an insult to Americans that we can't educate people about how to make informed choices.  Its the difference between being afraid to kill someone because you will get punished and choosing not to kill someone because you know it is wrong.  Its the right choice, but is it for the right reason?

 

Please, do not mistake me for someone who wants to use military force against weed-pushers... LOL

I honestly don't give two craps about bud... I'm no fan of it, but it's not a social concern of mine.  In all seriousness, I know at least 3 people on my street alone who I can get it from if I really wanted it.. and honestly, I only know 2 different people who smoke cigarettes on my block.  So, the moral of the story is, it's almost easier to get weed and than cigarettes (and really, ounce for ounce, weed is really a better bargain. :)  Hell, there were at least 20 people I went to high school with who grew it at home...

Seriously though, the cartels big money maker is cocaine... I despise coke.  I would never advocate legalizing it.  I stand by my statement of making war against the cartels to erradicate the cocaine trade.  Legalizing coke would be horrendous for the United States.

And Jackson50, God bless you, really, but I don't give a crap about the hegemony of other nations... well, I do, but I hold the security of the United States much higher.  If Mexico and Columbia can't keep their cartels under control because of corruption, and those drug war failures spill onto US soil (and they do) then it's in the interest of the United States to use military intervention to prevent this.

Both of these nations wouldn't object as much as you might think either... it has nothing to do with them not wanting us to--it has everything to do with us not wanting to.

And like I've stated before, my grandfather is Mexican, so I've always had a deep love for Mexico.... I want to see the cartels wiped out for their good as much as our own.  And less corruption is not only good for Mexico, but good for us as well.