Paved with False Love

John introduced me to a series of mini-stories produced by The Drew Cary Project. They are hosted by reason.tv and aim to uncover liberal-leaning, big government-loving projects for the evil shams that they are.

The most infuriating of these stories told about a 17-year-old, high school athlete who lost his leg to bone cancer. The phantom pains were unbearable for him until his doctor (Stanford renowned, mind you) prescribed medical marijuana. This boy had been on heavy narcotics for weeks in an attempt to ease the intense pain of his amputation, but all they served to do was turn him into a drone who could do little more than sleep.

The pharmacist who provided the prescription for this young man often gave him the doses for free after hearing the heart-wrenching story. The man's kindness and provision of this controversial prescription eased the boy's pain without drugging him into oblivion. This kid's life could finally start again.

The DEA, god of the universe, disagreed. They raided the pharmacist, took all his supplies, and put him in jail with a $400,000 bail, which his family scraped together. This man is now under house arrest and faces felony charges.

This simple plant, harvested and used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years, is somehow regarded as the bane of existence. Its evils are touted as destructive to the very core of American values. Even a 17-year-old suffering from horrendous pain cannot use it to ease his agony, despite the prescription of a respected physician. And yet, somehow, it is acceptable to diagnose an energetic 8-year-old with "ADD" and dope him up on speed for his entire childhood.

I struggle to comprehend how this mindset even comes about. They say, "the path to hell is paved with good intentions," but it seems far more sinister than that. I don't understand how something so horribly illogical and blatantly evil can become commonplace thinking in society. At least with other horrific vices in this country, like abortion, you can find a motive. A situation like that of medical marijuana makes no sense. It is difficult to see who benefits or who can even conceive of being nosy enough to tell a suffering, desperate patient that they can't take a small, controlled dosage of a plant to ease their pain. How dare anyone be so noble?

I just finished re-reading C.S. Lewis' classic "Till We Have Faces," and I believe I can find an answer to my conundrum in this great novel. Orual, Queen of Glome, destroys her sister's life by forcing her to disobey her husband. Orual convinced herself that she did this for Psyche's own good, that her action was done in the name of love for her sister. Orual later discovers and admits to herself that her idea of love was exactly the opposite. Really, her motivation came from selfishness, jealousy, and the idea that she was wiser and more knowledgeable than her innocent sister. These sentiments allowed her to manipulate in the worst possibly way; she used the name of love to control another.

That is what the bleeding hearts of today do. They spout gospels of love, peace, and joy for all, living out their selfish existence in any way they choose. It is not love that motivates them, but a desire to control, to feel empowered and noble. They profane the name of love and manipulate the innocent. This selfishness is, perhaps, the greatest evil of all and is destroying our nation.

I ask myself over and over the classic Libertarian question: Why can't we just leave each other alone?

Simple: It would not stroke our egos, and that will never do.