Part Of My Confusion

It's been a few months since my first post which was read by only a handful of people anyway, so just to keep from being seen as a quitter, I decided to post another blurb, or is it blog? As time goes by, and depending on the amount of interest or lack thereof, there may or may not be a theme or at least some sort of cohesion to my ramblings. If so I invite you to comment either pro or con, on not only the subject matter in general, but any particular issues you may have with my comments.

As far as this particular post, I'd like to put forth a question and get your response. The question today is as follows;Is God pleased with the direction that our country is heading, politically, morally, spiritually etc.The reason I ask is because I sometimes get confused as to how God wants us to react to the various situations that life brings upon us as a society.

When I was growing up, things were pretty clear, more black and white one might say. I pretty much knew what was right and wrong based upon what my elders taught me. As I matured into a well rounded teenager, things became less clear. Some things I had to decide for myself, taking into account the opinions and knowledge of others both my age, and the aforementioned elders.

Major issues were pressing upon the world, that called for a stance to be taken. Granted some of these things already existed, but I had not become aware of them prior to my well "roundedness". One such item should be easy.

Drugs... Definitely a bad thing, we all know that drug addicts are terrible people who will do anything and everything to get their fix. Their world is primarily composed of thieves, prostitutes, thugs, rascals, and other degenerate types. Whereas Alcohol, is legal and socially acceptable, except in some religious circles. We call these people Alcoholics rather than addicts.

One definition for addiction is;

Drug addiction is a pathological or abnormal condition which arises due to frequent drug use. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli.

Man that's bad, how could anyone do that to themselves. My buddies and I used to talk about deep issues like this, while having a few beers, or shots or a fifth or two. We could never understand potheads, addicts, and the like. Some of my buddies were probably alcoholics, but at least they weren't drug addicts. I ran across this little item recently that sorta confused me though.

Alcoholism has multiple and conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences. Modern medical definitions[1] describe alcoholism as a disease and addiction which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences.

Maybe you can see where my confusion lies. I don't pretend to have any answers to these very deep and complicated issues, but to me it seems that one is about as bad as the other. Maybe someone can enlighten me as to how one is not as bad as the other, or why one is legal and the other for the most part is not. You can see how easy it is to get confused. Maybe what we need is a good overall healthcare plan that will treat both conditions equally. Tobacco is another issue, but given the current political climate concerning smoking and or smokers, I doubt that the proposed healthcare plan up before congress will offer as much compassion for that issue as opposed to the drug or alcohol issue.

Let me know what you think.