IT'S ALL ABOUT SOUL
Posted by Lenny Palmer at 7/31/2007 10:44 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
IT'S ALL ABOUT SOUL
Lenny Palmer
7/31/07
I’m not a religious man.
I don’t attend church services.
I don’t pray, or ask for forgiveness, or understanding or worldly success or upscale possessions, good looks, glitter or glamour.
I believe people who pray only for worldly possessions and worldly success are little people, and not worthy of attention, or friendship.
I believe those who are silent in the observation of their faith, and are of a belief that is based on a deep personal understanding of God and others, and of their place in the world are individuals to be admired, and to be cultivated as friends.
Even though I am not a religious man, I believe all of us have souls. Whether the soul dies with us, or ascends to a higher plane, or heaven, or descends to hell and eternal damnation are questions I am not equipped to answer.
I believe, however, that there is not only an individual soul, but a collective soul; as individuals have souls so does a nation, and America is slowly losing its soul. This once robust, confident, cocksure country is unraveling from within as an insidious disease saps us of our strengths, and our sense of purpose.
The insidious disease is the curse of drug-dependency. The nation is flooded with illegal coke-heads, crack-heads, pill-poppers, meth-freaks, junkies, drunks, pot-heads; and those seemingly normal citizens who can’t get through the day with Flomax, Oxycontin, Zoloft, Prozac, Percodan, Percoset, Nexium, Vicodin, Viagra, etc., etc., etc; all of which are gleefully prescribed by money-hungry doctors who themselves are addicted to cha-ching of the cash register and whose patients are no more than cash cows to be used in the pursuit of worldly goods.
Have you ever had dialogue with a crackhead? He can have the smoking crack pipe hanging out of his mouth, eyes glazed over in drug-induced haze, lips stretched out over bared teeth in a death’s-head grin, look you directly in the eye and deny he’s using. He will lie, and if the lie is exposed, use that lie to build upon other lies to create an elaborate structure of prevarications that will justify his pathetic, useless, drug-addled existence. He not only creates these lies, but he believes them; he has to, to justify his sorry, worthless life. Everything in his life is structured toward the pursuit of the drug, and he will do anything to secure that drug; steal, lie, cheat, sell his children, his mother, his grandmother; anything, no matter how despicable, to get one more suck on the crack pipe. Case in point: in East Islip, New York, Matthew Belcher, a former altar boy, was convicted of robbing the church poor box at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. When apprehended, his excuse was “I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but I was on a binge, a drug binge.”
Anything for the drug. Anything, no matter how low, no matter how despicable.
I use crack as a metaphor here because of the insidious nature of the drug, and the countless lives it has destroyed. Not only the lives of the addicted, but of their loved ones, who are dragged into the maelstrom of addiction by uncaring, unfeeling wives, husbands, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. The souls of these innocent people, through no fault of their own, are sapped by the drug-dependence of those who should be a source of strength and comfort, but are instead an emotional, financial and spiritual drain on everyone around them.
Drug addicts are not innocent victims who need love and understanding, but criminals who need the harshest punishments to make them comprehend the absolute disaster they have made not only of their lives, but of the lives of those who have had the unfortunate circumstance of knowing and loving them. They are selfish, uncaring low lifes who care nothing of others, and should be treated as such.
Words like this will create a howl of protest, but is only words like this and the power that lies behind them that will cure the disease which is sapping our nation’s strength, draining its soul. To cure them we must remove them from polite society, shut them away, shun them; force them to realize the error of their ways and the self-destructive path they have chosen.
Yet how do we respond? By teaching our children that drugs like Adderall and Ritalin will help them focus and do better in class, thereby creating a whole new generation of drug-dependent future crackheads that will turn to the pipe, the pill or the bottle to overcome the roadblocks life throws in front of them. Life is tough, kiddies, and full of jagged edges. Drugs do not smooth out those edges, they only mask them, and you have to come to grips with that fact or you are lost.
And if you become lost, so to will we be lost: your husbands and wives, your brothers and sisters, your father and mothers, your friends and neighbors, your fellow Americans.
Your soul mates?
Want to comment directly to Lenny? E-mail Lenny at lenny@acitizensvoice.com
Lenny Palmer can be heard on WLIP 1050AM, Mon-Fri: 8-11am
and WKRS 1220AM, Mon-Fri: 3-6pm
Did you know?
The "A Citizen's Voice" website has FREE online chat and forums, podcasts and more!
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This blog is published by and reflects the personal views of Lenny Palmer and other guest contributors. It does not represent the views of WKRS 1220AM NEXT Media, WLIP 1050AM NEXT Media, or WRLR 98.3FM RONDARADIO and is not sponsored or endorsed by these organizations, its clients or partners. The purpose of this site is to assist in dissemination and discussion of information about local, national and world issues from Lenny Palmer's perspective. The information contained in this site is provided only as general information for educational and entertainment purposes, and topics may or may not be updated subsequent to their initial posting. By using this site you understand and agree to this disclaimer.
Lenny Palmer
7/31/07
I’m not a religious man.
I don’t attend church services.
I don’t pray, or ask for forgiveness, or understanding or worldly success or upscale possessions, good looks, glitter or glamour.
I believe people who pray only for worldly possessions and worldly success are little people, and not worthy of attention, or friendship.
I believe those who are silent in the observation of their faith, and are of a belief that is based on a deep personal understanding of God and others, and of their place in the world are individuals to be admired, and to be cultivated as friends.
Even though I am not a religious man, I believe all of us have souls. Whether the soul dies with us, or ascends to a higher plane, or heaven, or descends to hell and eternal damnation are questions I am not equipped to answer.
I believe, however, that there is not only an individual soul, but a collective soul; as individuals have souls so does a nation, and America is slowly losing its soul. This once robust, confident, cocksure country is unraveling from within as an insidious disease saps us of our strengths, and our sense of purpose.
The insidious disease is the curse of drug-dependency. The nation is flooded with illegal coke-heads, crack-heads, pill-poppers, meth-freaks, junkies, drunks, pot-heads; and those seemingly normal citizens who can’t get through the day with Flomax, Oxycontin, Zoloft, Prozac, Percodan, Percoset, Nexium, Vicodin, Viagra, etc., etc., etc; all of which are gleefully prescribed by money-hungry doctors who themselves are addicted to cha-ching of the cash register and whose patients are no more than cash cows to be used in the pursuit of worldly goods.
Have you ever had dialogue with a crackhead? He can have the smoking crack pipe hanging out of his mouth, eyes glazed over in drug-induced haze, lips stretched out over bared teeth in a death’s-head grin, look you directly in the eye and deny he’s using. He will lie, and if the lie is exposed, use that lie to build upon other lies to create an elaborate structure of prevarications that will justify his pathetic, useless, drug-addled existence. He not only creates these lies, but he believes them; he has to, to justify his sorry, worthless life. Everything in his life is structured toward the pursuit of the drug, and he will do anything to secure that drug; steal, lie, cheat, sell his children, his mother, his grandmother; anything, no matter how despicable, to get one more suck on the crack pipe. Case in point: in East Islip, New York, Matthew Belcher, a former altar boy, was convicted of robbing the church poor box at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. When apprehended, his excuse was “I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but I was on a binge, a drug binge.”
Anything for the drug. Anything, no matter how low, no matter how despicable.
I use crack as a metaphor here because of the insidious nature of the drug, and the countless lives it has destroyed. Not only the lives of the addicted, but of their loved ones, who are dragged into the maelstrom of addiction by uncaring, unfeeling wives, husbands, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. The souls of these innocent people, through no fault of their own, are sapped by the drug-dependence of those who should be a source of strength and comfort, but are instead an emotional, financial and spiritual drain on everyone around them.
Drug addicts are not innocent victims who need love and understanding, but criminals who need the harshest punishments to make them comprehend the absolute disaster they have made not only of their lives, but of the lives of those who have had the unfortunate circumstance of knowing and loving them. They are selfish, uncaring low lifes who care nothing of others, and should be treated as such.
Words like this will create a howl of protest, but is only words like this and the power that lies behind them that will cure the disease which is sapping our nation’s strength, draining its soul. To cure them we must remove them from polite society, shut them away, shun them; force them to realize the error of their ways and the self-destructive path they have chosen.
Yet how do we respond? By teaching our children that drugs like Adderall and Ritalin will help them focus and do better in class, thereby creating a whole new generation of drug-dependent future crackheads that will turn to the pipe, the pill or the bottle to overcome the roadblocks life throws in front of them. Life is tough, kiddies, and full of jagged edges. Drugs do not smooth out those edges, they only mask them, and you have to come to grips with that fact or you are lost.
And if you become lost, so to will we be lost: your husbands and wives, your brothers and sisters, your father and mothers, your friends and neighbors, your fellow Americans.
Your soul mates?
Want to comment directly to Lenny? E-mail Lenny at lenny@acitizensvoice.com
Lenny Palmer can be heard on WLIP 1050AM, Mon-Fri: 8-11am
and WKRS 1220AM, Mon-Fri: 3-6pm
Did you know?
The "A Citizen's Voice" website has FREE online chat and forums, podcasts and more!
Advertisement
This blog is published by and reflects the personal views of Lenny Palmer and other guest contributors. It does not represent the views of WKRS 1220AM NEXT Media, WLIP 1050AM NEXT Media, or WRLR 98.3FM RONDARADIO and is not sponsored or endorsed by these organizations, its clients or partners. The purpose of this site is to assist in dissemination and discussion of information about local, national and world issues from Lenny Palmer's perspective. The information contained in this site is provided only as general information for educational and entertainment purposes, and topics may or may not be updated subsequent to their initial posting. By using this site you understand and agree to this disclaimer.
Excellent blog! I agree with everything and may I add that there are many people who have not lost their souls. I am like you about religion and I pray between God and me. I let my actions show my religion. You are so correct on drugs and drug use, and may I put excessive alcohol use in the mix also. I saw so many homes destroyed by alcohol and gambling.
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Judi, Lenny did not write that he keeps his prayers between him and whatever God he believes exists. He quite clearly wrote, "I don’t attend church services. I don’t pray."
He also wrote, "I believe people who pray only for worldly possessions and worldly success are little people, and not worthy of attention, or friendship."
I wonder if he would pray, however, for the souls of those people who are addicts, that whatever God he believes in would help these people in their struggle against their addiction? Somebody should ask him that.
For the most part, I found this to be a very good and thought-provoking blog.
My only critique is when Lenny talks about "Adderall and Ritalin help[ing] them [children] focus and do better in class, thereby creating a whole new generation of drug-dependent future crackheads that will turn to the pipe, the pill or the bottle to overcome the roadblocks life throws in front of them."
I think it is a GIANT leap of reasoning to assume that children who use Adderall or Ritalin, or Depecote under the careful eye of a good physician will later in life turn into crack cocaine using adults. Usually, that stuff starts with pot usage, and escalates into more harsh drug use, like crack cocaine or methadone. Ask most drug counselors, and that's what they'll tell you. Addicts start with something seemingly relatively harmless to them like pot for recreational use. Then, the person says, "I can handle pot. I need a bigger buzz, 'tho. I'll try cocaine." Soon, what the addict thought they had "under control" as recreational use is out of control and running and ruining their lives.
I wonder if Lenny knows any adults or teenagers who are successes because they used Adderall or Ritalin to help them overcome their Attention Deficit Disorder?
I'm not denying that Ritalin and Adderall can be and have been abused as recreational drugs. But, I believe to suggest that properly prescribed Adderall or Ritalin use will invariably lead to crack cocaine use is a giant leap from logical reasoning.
I'm perfectly willing to admit that I may be wrong about this, but I would like to see some statistics. How many people have been treated or used Adderall or Ritalin and gone on to use crack cocaine or methadone, or some other potent, highly-addictive drug? Surely, if Lenny is talking about it, there must be statistics that can be cited to bolster his arguement, right? So, where can we find that information?
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The following comes from the website NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse):
- In reference to using Adderall and Ritalin, research suggests "Such therapy frequently reduces symptoms, but some clinicians have feared that giving prescription stimulants to children may get them in the habit of taking stimulants, and, as a result, they may be more likely to take illicit stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine."
However, further research has shown, "...two new NIDA-supported studies suggest that treatment medications may be part of the solution to drug abuse in ADHD, rather than the problem.
One study found that children who were medicated for their ADHD were less likely to become substance abusers during 4 years of followup than were children with ADHD who were not medicated. The other study found that administering an ADHD medication to adult cocaine abusers with the disorder reduced their cocaine use."
Furthermore, "Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, compared the incidence of substance abuse and dependence in 56 boys with ADHD who were being treated with either stimulants or TCAs at the beginning of the study, 19 boys with ADHD who were not receiving any medications, and 137 boys without ADHD. All boys were Caucasian and were followed for 4 years and then evaluated for abuse of or dependence on marijuana, alcohol, hallucinogens, stimulants, or cocaine. At the time of evaluation, the boys were at least 15 years old.
Treating ADHD with medications appeared to reduce the tendency to abuse drugs and alcohol. While 75 percent of the unmedicated ADHD boys had started abusing these substances in the previous 4 years, this was true of only 25 percent of the medicated ADHD boys and 18 percent of the boys without ADHD. The researchers calculated that treating ADHD with medications reduced the risk of substance abuse or dependence by 84 percent."
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Yes, this once great country is losing it's soul, or maybe it is being grabbed away, by the Methadone programs, halfway houses, free counseling, Social Security Disability. Maybe if this country straightened her back and said "NO" we will enable you no more. You got your sorry butts into this mess, get it out by yourself. I didn't feed you the drugs, or pour the alcohol in your glass. One day Lady Liberty is going to turn on her heels and look at what has been going on behind her back, and her heart will break. For all those she trusted to enter this great land have not appreciated the real life offered here, but what is fast, free, and drug/alcohol induced. No, our sights have to be set on the children, and the elderly, those who will take over from us, and those who left us with morals, respect, love of family, God and country!
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Great blog Lenny, great topic! Although we differ in our practice of faith, I agree with you that it is a personal experience between a person and God. I also agree with you about the state of decay in the US, and can point out that much of it stems from a pill-popping society. A pill for practically every little issue that arises. Kids see their parents doing this. How can we set an example for them? Thanks so much for a thought provoking article.
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Oh Lenny, You have put the pieces of the puzzle together.You are spot-on when it comes to this issue.I sure hope that you have more discussion about this issue in the future.
Peace
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I don't agree that the "insidious disease" that has robbed America of its "soul" is the "curse of drug-dependency". I think drug dependency is a symptom of a far more serious problem....our inability to experience a natural high. It's that eternal quest for the ultimate thrill that makes drug use so appealing. It eliminates the middle man; it releases you from any kind of communion with the world around you or the people in it. All you need is enough money for a quick fix and you're there....you have it all. It's sterile and it's safe from any kind of commitment. Selfish....of course. And isn't that what we have become? We're so involved with ourselves that we can't even get into the simple pleasure of watching a beautiful sunset or making
angels in the snow. It's easier to just skip all that and go for the high that requires nothing of ourselves. I used to tell my 9th. grade students who were already well on their way in that search for the ultimate thrill that by the time they were 25, they would have to turn themselves inside out to experience any kind of a high. It was my mission to get them to pause and just take a look around them at all the things that have given me a lifetime of "highs". At the time they no doubt thought I had a few screws loose, but I know that I had to hit home with at least some of them. All I was doing was trying to eliminate that need for the quick fix, the fake high that has turned us into a country without "soul". You're right about that, Lenny....we've lost it.
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I agree with you, Lenny, as well with Sandra, who commented above. You both expressed my feelings very well. Thank you!
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Lots of time has gone by since Lenny last posted a new blog.
C'mon, Lenny...the common clay of your listening audience needs your kernels of wisdom to allow those who follow your every word to bray like donkeys in agreement with your clearly superior intellect. Please, tell us what to do with our lives and our children. We need your morally and intellectually superior guidance to survive. Please, Lenny...enough with this silence. We beseech you...give us another blog of wisdom and the careful research which you use to draw your conclusions to our most basic problems in life.
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John are you just the jealous one aren't you. Lenny you Rock! Keep the wisdom coming our way at least you make me think. Isn't that your job oh wise one..
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Heeee haaaawwwww heeeeee haaaawwwww!!
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I think John is saying he's a ASS..
John I agree you are a ass..
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I can't figure out what you're doing here with mere mortals, John. What made you leave Mt. Olympus to mingle with the "common clay"?
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