Your Anti-Drug Is A Drug

I found myself thinking about the "my anti-drug" commercials. On its surface, it seems like a good thing. Drugs are a way of using your time, which could be used in countless other ways. Whatever activity you chose to fill in the blank was a more constructive way to use your time. Unfortunately, it can also be seen in a darker sense.

When people would fill in the blank, that activity was an obsession. This still played well into the metaphor; drugs to people were an obsession. Obsessing over an activity is a way to make sure that drugs do not become part of your occasion (especially since use of drugs could ruin your ability to do that obsession.

In this latter view, the fact remain that obsession is obsession. If you spend your entire life focused on playing the guitar, then you're spending your entire life not paying attention to anything else. The same goes for playing cards, building robots, or knitting.

"But wait," the people say, "aren't those other activities far more positive than doing drugs?" I dunno, are they? Drugs make you really, super happy, much like doing any other activity you're obsessed with. Some drugs do not make you happy, but they do let you escape from reality, just like any other obsession. Obsessing over playing guitar could make you a world-famous superstar. The same is true for building robots. Even knitting could be turned into a business. But so can drugs. It may not be legal, but it is doable.

In this view, all obsessions are equal. They get you high when you're on them. They make you crash when you're without them. You can be extremely passionate and knowledgeable about them. If you make it your life, there is a way to make a life out of it.

I'm not really trying to defend drugs, nor am I trying to condemn them. What I am trying to say is that all passions can be treated the same, even if the public does not. Passion is the strongest form of energy you can have from within. If you actually have passion for anything, follow it.