Pubdate: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2004 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 Author: John Zaugg NO MORAL VALUES Of course we should be fighting the battle against drug abuse. To not fight it would be like the mother who sees her child playing with matches and gasoline and does nothing. The problem is, we are going about it all wrong. As more than one person has said, if we want to solve a problem, we have to attack the source. The underlying cause of drug abuse (and a host of other mental diseases, bad habits and behavioral problems) is our young people are growing up in an environment that reeks of irrationalism, feelings of emptiness, and insidious regimentation. The "war on drugs" does not address these underlying problems. De-criminalizing drugs will not fix the problem. Taking matches and gasoline away from a child is a good idea, but does not teach the child anything and may make them want to experiment when parents aren't watching. If we want to save our youth from senseless self-destruction, we must put an end to the emptiness, irrationalism and oppressive regimentation. We must restore liberty to America. The emptiness and helplessness we feel is the disgraceful lack of moral values. John Zaugg, Denver - --- MAP posted-by: Derek