Let's Talk About: Addiction.

Who is responsible for stopping someone who is clearly out of control?

Parents? No doubt, lack of parental controls and discipline can be called into question. It's also easy to assume the parents were not the best of role models in their habits themselves. But what if the parents did all they could? What if the parents have done their best to provide every opportunity for their child? Can you still point the finger at them? Is it not possible for the apple to fall very far from the tree?

"Friends?" People tend to do things in which their associates take part. Sometimes though, people become friends with someone because they already have a bad habit in common. If the people feed off of one another, it is similar to the chicken v egg debate.

What of individual responsibility? As a society, Americans are taught total contradictions about social responsibility. On one hand, we are told to worry about ourselves, often assigning blame or negative connotations to someone who snitches. On the other, the government imposes rules meant only to save us from ourselves (ie: seatbelt laws, criminalization of drugs, etc.) If the label "addict" is prescribed to someone, is their judgment not, by default, amiss?

Someone close to me recently had a run in with the law due to what I've always assumed to be a slight case of a drinking problem. One DUI charge and a few weeks later, this person has yet to really make it clear to me whether they admit to their problem or not. How involved am I supposed to be in this recovery process? Do I let the court ordered rehabilitation do its job, knowing full well preaching abstinence to someone who has made this such a huge part of their life seems foolish and somewhat unreasonable? Granted, I shouldn't be asking this person to drink with me, but am I expected not to drink in the presence of this person? What if I live with this person? Am I setting them up for failure by keeping a case of beer in the fridge?




Answers of any kind would be greatly appreciated.

More later. <3