I thought that I knew the difference between an addiction and a disease, I’m not quite sure anymore. The definitions are becoming blurry and the lines between the two, not very clear. I began to ask myself why are these lines becoming unclear, and who is to blame? Who benefits from these lines becoming blurred? I think that I may have come up with some answers!
Let me first start out by giving you a definition of an addiction and a disease. As I said earlier the differences between the two are in question, so as you would expect, the definitions are a little different depending on which one you read. Here is a general definition of both.
An addiction is a recurring compulsion by a person to engage in some specific activity, often to their own detriment.
A disease is a departure from a state of health, a condition of mind or body marked by definite symptoms and signs that impairs the bodily functions.
Now, the problem is that any addiction that affects your health, people want classified as a disease. What people you may ask? I think the drug companies and doctors who make billions of dollars every year love finding new things to treat. The more sick people there are to treat, the more money they make. We all know there is no money in curing people, but keeping them sick and medicated makes money and that is good business.
Who else may have a reason to make addictions diseases? How about Hollywood PR people? Companies are paid millions of dollars every year to spin peoples mistakes and bad press into a positive out come. Life gets much easier for PR companies when you can say that he/she has a disease that they are battling, and needs to seek treatment. They are taking this way to far in my opinion. Ashley Simpson was caught lip syncing on Saturday Night Live and blamed it on acid reflux. What in god’s name does acid reflux have to do with you lip syncing? Nothing, not a god damn thing, that’s what! I’m sure we all remember Mel Gibson’s little rant he had regarding Jews. It wasn’t Mel’s fault, he was drunk. His addiction to whiskey is to blame, and that’s not his fault, it’s a disease. Here’s a news flash for everyone, drinking does not make you a racist, pedophile, murderer, etc. If you are an asshole and you drink, you become a bigger asshole. If you are a racist and drink, you become a bigger racist; Jack Daniels had nothing to do with it. Being a drunk or drug addict is wrong and gets no sympathy, but having a disease that you are battling is noble. It’s all about spin.
The term addiction is often reserved for drug addicts, but it is now being applied to other compulsions, such as gambling, sex, tattoos, pornography, computers, cutting, religion, and sugar, just to name a few. I just checked the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and its lists none of these as diseases. Do you want to know why, because they are not diseases, they are addictions. I believe that we are all born with free will, and with free will come choices. I can decide to stop drinking or smoking, but I can’t decide to stop having Cancer or Aids. Why, because one is an addiction and one is a disease.
This is where the line between addiction and disease cross. Some disease cause addictions, but are diseases. Some addictions cause diseases, but are still addictions. Obesity is one of those conditions that get classified as both. People can be addicted to eating, or have problems losing weight due to gland problems and therefore making it a disease. People, who eat McDonalds 5 days a week and get no exercise, do not have a disease. They are just addicted to McDonalds and are lazy, that’s a choice.
Hell, you even have people now who think that being gay is a disease and if you get counseling, it will go away. I just think that we have become a society that has no idea how to take responsibility for its actions! When was the last time someone stepped up and said yep, it was me, I fucked up. No one takes responsibility, they just MISREMEMBER things! I am tired of movie stars, athletes, politicians and everyone else in the public eye being given a free pass when it comes to accountability. Stop blaming addictions/diseases for your stumbles in life. We fall in life in order to learn how to pick ourselves up. If you do not learn from your mistakes, you are bound to relive them until you learn the lesson you were suppose too.
Life is much easier when you can just blame it on a disease. Show some strength of character and have some accountability for your addiction if you have one, it’s the first step in dealing with addiction, that’s acceptance.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Letter to the IOC
Dear IOC
I am appalled that a commuist country with the human rights problems of China would be given the Olympics. In my opinion, the IOC should be ashamed of itself. The IOC has dropped the ball on this one, and now it’s trying to spin things so they don’t look like complete fools. Why don’t you award the next Olympics to Iraq or North Korea?
The IOC says that the Olympics were given to China because 1/5 of the worlds population lives there and they had a good bid. If you did give the Olympics to China for those reasons, fine, that’s your decision. (It wouldn’t have been mine). My problem was that there were no bench marks put in place to make sure that China was doing everything it had promised in order to get the Olympics. The Chinese said they would open up and show the world their great culture and heritage. It seems to me that was lip service to get the Olympics, and now that they have it, they are going to do whatever they want to do. If any country is vocal regarding problems with China’s performance thus far, they are threatened with economic sanctions. The Olympic website asserts that the Olympics are not political. I could not disagree more; the Olympics have always been political: Munich was political, Los Angeles was political and Moscow was political. The very reason that China received the Olympics was political.
Since most world governments get so much of their trade from China, they are all too scared to say anything to the Chinese, regarding Tibet or their human rights record. I am also finding that a lot of the real news is not being reported because of fear and threats made by the Chinese Government. The Chinese government is presently in the process of suing CNN for comments made by Jack Cafferty, a CNN host. He referred to the Chinese Government as a bunch of “goons”. I am sure that this is just the beginning of the Chinese trying to control the flow of information in and out of China.
Now, we are just months before the Olympics and what do we see or hear? We hear athletes talking about there fears about going to China. I hear reporters talking about making out their will before they go cover the Olympics. We see daily protests shadowing the torch, where ever it is being run. I read today that British athletes were asked to sign documents that state they will not say anything political against the Chinese government. If they don’t sign the documents, they cannot participate in the Olympics. This is a great way to prove how screwed up things have gotten, so far.
I hope that by awarding the Olympics to China it has a huge impact on the region. I hope that there are marches, protests, demonstrations, etc. You put reporters and journalists from 200+ countries in a communist country and expect protestors not to take advantage of this? When things go bad in China, which will happen, the only question is how it will be reported? Will the media be able to report what happens? Will they have access to the athletes and to outside the venues? For example, I have heard that videos and interviews will not be allowed from Tienamin square. Great job IOC, you have made the Olympics a protesters dream!
If you look at the comments that have come from China regarding the torch run, you would never know that there were protests. According to China, the torch has been met warmly where ever it has been. Communist propaganda I think it is called! Let’s all look back to when the torch was run from country to country first. I remember reading that it was Hitler’s idea to run the torch through all the countries that he had conquered to show power and strength. That run ended with the torch in Berlin, and the stadium torch being light with 3 swastikas in the background. Politics has nothing to do with the Olympics right?
When accountability is needed, and it will be needed, I hope that the head of the IOC takes responsibility for the mess that he and the IOC have helped create. When something happens, and it will, it won’t be the fault of an athlete, reporter or protester. I can hear it now, how did something like this happen? I will tell you how this happened. Things like this happen, when good people do nothing. When the Olympics are over, I am sure there will be enough blame to go around, but how much accountability will there be, is the question?
The IOC and the Chinese Government may be able to convince the sheep of the world that everything is fine and going to be fine. Those of us out there, who are free thinkers and question things, know the truth. You can not silence everyone.
I am appalled that a commuist country with the human rights problems of China would be given the Olympics. In my opinion, the IOC should be ashamed of itself. The IOC has dropped the ball on this one, and now it’s trying to spin things so they don’t look like complete fools. Why don’t you award the next Olympics to Iraq or North Korea?
The IOC says that the Olympics were given to China because 1/5 of the worlds population lives there and they had a good bid. If you did give the Olympics to China for those reasons, fine, that’s your decision. (It wouldn’t have been mine). My problem was that there were no bench marks put in place to make sure that China was doing everything it had promised in order to get the Olympics. The Chinese said they would open up and show the world their great culture and heritage. It seems to me that was lip service to get the Olympics, and now that they have it, they are going to do whatever they want to do. If any country is vocal regarding problems with China’s performance thus far, they are threatened with economic sanctions. The Olympic website asserts that the Olympics are not political. I could not disagree more; the Olympics have always been political: Munich was political, Los Angeles was political and Moscow was political. The very reason that China received the Olympics was political.
Since most world governments get so much of their trade from China, they are all too scared to say anything to the Chinese, regarding Tibet or their human rights record. I am also finding that a lot of the real news is not being reported because of fear and threats made by the Chinese Government. The Chinese government is presently in the process of suing CNN for comments made by Jack Cafferty, a CNN host. He referred to the Chinese Government as a bunch of “goons”. I am sure that this is just the beginning of the Chinese trying to control the flow of information in and out of China.
Now, we are just months before the Olympics and what do we see or hear? We hear athletes talking about there fears about going to China. I hear reporters talking about making out their will before they go cover the Olympics. We see daily protests shadowing the torch, where ever it is being run. I read today that British athletes were asked to sign documents that state they will not say anything political against the Chinese government. If they don’t sign the documents, they cannot participate in the Olympics. This is a great way to prove how screwed up things have gotten, so far.
I hope that by awarding the Olympics to China it has a huge impact on the region. I hope that there are marches, protests, demonstrations, etc. You put reporters and journalists from 200+ countries in a communist country and expect protestors not to take advantage of this? When things go bad in China, which will happen, the only question is how it will be reported? Will the media be able to report what happens? Will they have access to the athletes and to outside the venues? For example, I have heard that videos and interviews will not be allowed from Tienamin square. Great job IOC, you have made the Olympics a protesters dream!
If you look at the comments that have come from China regarding the torch run, you would never know that there were protests. According to China, the torch has been met warmly where ever it has been. Communist propaganda I think it is called! Let’s all look back to when the torch was run from country to country first. I remember reading that it was Hitler’s idea to run the torch through all the countries that he had conquered to show power and strength. That run ended with the torch in Berlin, and the stadium torch being light with 3 swastikas in the background. Politics has nothing to do with the Olympics right?
When accountability is needed, and it will be needed, I hope that the head of the IOC takes responsibility for the mess that he and the IOC have helped create. When something happens, and it will, it won’t be the fault of an athlete, reporter or protester. I can hear it now, how did something like this happen? I will tell you how this happened. Things like this happen, when good people do nothing. When the Olympics are over, I am sure there will be enough blame to go around, but how much accountability will there be, is the question?
The IOC and the Chinese Government may be able to convince the sheep of the world that everything is fine and going to be fine. Those of us out there, who are free thinkers and question things, know the truth. You can not silence everyone.
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