An Anesthetized Culture:
Further Reflections on Drugs
I recently wrote a piece for Crisis, entitled “Accepting Drugs: A Challenge for Culture and Evangelization,” in response to what I perceive as a general unwillingness of Catholics to take a stand on this pressing issue.
Our society is quickly accepting recreational drugs, particularly marijuana, as a normal and a generally harmless phenomenon. The piece created a robust discussion in the comments, though many responses focused on two issues: a lack of nuance in approaching marijuana and the rejection of a substantial difference between drugs and alcohol. This is exactly the kind of conversation that has to occur as we formulate a Catholic response to the growing acceptance of drugs. I’d like to continue the discussion, clarifying some of the key issues.
First, I would like to begin by reemphasizing my general point in writing the previous article. I find that many comments (in general, not just for my own piece) focus on particular points out of the general context and purpose in which they are stated. My point is that drugs represent one, and possibly the most pronounced, attempt to escape from reality and from the use of reason in facing our problems. The trend that I perceive is that there is a general search for anesthesia in our culture. We have sought to eliminate pain and even a plain facing up to the reality of death and have created a culture that seeks comfort and prosperity above all else. What happens with this suppression of reality (life is meant to be hard and to include suffering) is that an underlying dissatisfaction sets in. Our attempt at utopia fails and leaves us isolated and miserable (generally speaking) and then we have to find even more exotic ways to cover this up. Enter drugs.
The growing role of drugs (both recreational and also pharmaceutical at times) reminds me of the use of soma in Huxley’s Brave New World: “Why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly.” Accepting drugs is an important step toward the dystopia that Huxley saw emerging in the world.
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Readmore: http://www.crisismagazine.com
First, I would like to begin by reemphasizing my general point in writing the previous article. I find that many comments (in general, not just for my own piece) focus on particular points out of the general context and purpose in which they are stated. My point is that drugs represent one, and possibly the most pronounced, attempt to escape from reality and from the use of reason in facing our problems. The trend that I perceive is that there is a general search for anesthesia in our culture. We have sought to eliminate pain and even a plain facing up to the reality of death and have created a culture that seeks comfort and prosperity above all else. What happens with this suppression of reality (life is meant to be hard and to include suffering) is that an underlying dissatisfaction sets in. Our attempt at utopia fails and leaves us isolated and miserable (generally speaking) and then we have to find even more exotic ways to cover this up. Enter drugs.
The growing role of drugs (both recreational and also pharmaceutical at times) reminds me of the use of soma in Huxley’s Brave New World: “Why you don’t take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You’d forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you’d be jolly. So jolly.” Accepting drugs is an important step toward the dystopia that Huxley saw emerging in the world.
.........................
Readmore: http://www.crisismagazine.com
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