Patrick Kennedy Is A Typical Whiny Drug Addict
By Dave Gibson (05/13/06)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is a textbook example of a 21st century addict. Kennedy came out and admitted his addiction to prescription narcotics and announced his impending visit to a drug rehab clinic. However, he then made the statement that drug addiction is a "disease," thus absolving himself of any responsibility for his own behavior.
After slamming into a police barricade at 2:30 in the morning, Kennedy told police officers that he was headed to the capitol for a vote (The Congressman was lucid enough to lie to police and invoke a little-known law which prohibits the arrest of Congressmen while a vote is taking place.). Of course, there was no vote taking place and the initial police report indicated that alcohol was a factor in the crash. Later Kennedy claimed that he had only taken the sleep medication Ambien and the anti-nausea drug Phenergan.
Kennedy was allowed to go home and the rest is yet another chapter in the apparently un-finished sordid Kennedy saga. The Congressman is now enjoying his second visit in less than five months at the Mayo Clinic...instead of a jail cell.
Obviously, Congressmen and Kennedy men are used to receiving privileges which would never be extended to the majority of Americans. However, it is certainly not unusual for rich and poor addicts alike to shift the blame away from themselves and onto the drug itself.
It is not unusual today to hear a junkie or drunk talk about themselves in almost heroic terms. During Kennedy's press conference he claimed to have actually been praised by mental health providers for his candor concerning his own drug abuse. He also said: "I've been fighting this chronic disease since I was a young man."
Contrary to what so many liberals believe...Drug abuse is not a disease! It is simply an addiction to a substance which provides a euphoric feeling. Period. Failing to resist the temptation of indulging in the fast and easy satisfaction which drugs provide, simply shows a weakness of character. Period.
My family too has been touched by drug addiction. My family has also been touched by laziness and gluttony. I felt no more sympathy for the drug addict than I did for the layabout and the binge-eater. All three conditions are self-induced and thrive on the sympathy of well-meaning friends and family.
While those addicted to drugs and alcohol heartily embrace the label of 'victim.' Of course, they are nothing of the sort. However, an addict's family and friends are frequently victimized by the junkie or the drunk in their life. Addicts are willing participants in their own demise and are simply weak-willed individuals.
Only when the lowly activities of the addict are made public is the junkie regretful over his actions. While they keep their addiction hidden and enjoy the non-stop party, they have no regard for their work or even their loved ones. It is only after their abhorrent behavior causes personal hardship (typically criminal prosecution or financial ruin) that these self-styled victims announce their 'regret.'
Once upon a time in America, junkies were widely viewed as undesirable, lazy, and weak people. During that time of sanity, drug abuse was also rather rare. Today however, we are constantly told that these same individuals that were once confined to alleys and the under side of bridges are now 'victims of a disease.' They were awarded this new and more respectable status by pork barrel politicians and a dishonest mental health industry.
The drug and alcohol rehabilitation industry is a multi-billion dollar a year business. The Arms Acres rehab clinic in Carmel, NY is a typical facility and charges the fee of $8,500 a month for in-house treatment. Annual U.S. treatment costs of alcoholics alone is over $2 billion. Private costs for drug treatment is at least four times that much.
Public funds are also used for this relatively new 'disease.' The National Institute on Drug Abuse (yet another taxpayer supported agency) operates with a $900 million plus annual budget. This agency also funds 85 percent of worldwide drug abuse studies.
While convincing junkies that they are victims has become a profitable industry, it has further damaged an already unstable society. Personal responsibility has become a thing of the past and the 'disease' label will not stop with substance abuse. Eventually, every sort of addiction to which one can subject himself will achieve 'disease' status.
Ours is a society which now rewards decadence, perversity, and weakness. We are nearing the end of this civilization.
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