Long and Winding Road

--Drugs win war on drugs (The Onion, 1.10.98)

The people in the cheaper seats clap your hands.
And the rest of you, just rattle your jewelry
--John Lennon, Royal Variety Performance

The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
--The Long and Winding Road, The Beatles

She goes running for the shelter
of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way,
gets her through her busy day
--Mother's Little Helper, Rolling Stones
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Just a little rumination: Sir Paul McCartney was recently feted at the White House by the President, in this veritable season of fetes, and Mr. Obama presented Sir Paul with the Library of Congress's Gershwin Award.

What occurred to us is the eternal nature of some missions. The U.S. is currently in the midst of The Long War (whatever) in Afghanistan, but still trudges hopefully/hopelessly on in another, even more ephemeral war: The War on Drugs. Began when Mr. McCartney was a wee lad beginning his forays into the world of psychedelics in earnest, then-president Nixon declared it a war in 1971 and thus it has ever been (forever and ever, amen.)

Yet here they were on stage -- in the White House! -- two former users and abusers of the devil's weed and then some (blow, LSD, etc.) We as a nation should not demonize drug dealers and then schmooze with their customers. Like in Afghanistan, where poppies are bad (except when they are good.) Maybe it is just those users South of the border who are problematic.

In a consistent and just universe, users like McCartney and Obama would have ended up in jail. Just as surely as say a Liverpudlian kid or one from Southside Chicago.

But let no one say decorum is entirely dead -- at least they didn't invite Phil Spector.

Militarization of Life

Headline for legislation passed by the House last week to reinstate pay-as-you-go (paygo) statutes read, "Bill is Passed to Combat U.S. Deficit."

It seems all areas of U.S. life are now being militarized. If legislators combat the deficit, does this make them warriors? Will it go as well as our wars on crime, drugs and poverty?

Maybe there is another approach, other than fighting. Is it our rhetoric that needs fixing, or our approach to problems? Maybe both.