WHY NOT THE TRUE VALUE?

Whenever police authorities seize weapons, either because possession itself is illegal or because the weapon is being used for purposes in conflict with the neutrality law, we see, hear or read in the mass media that the value of the confiscated materials is not reported in terms of dollars and cents but instead terms of its capacity to destroy. For example, "in such and such residence there has been discovered a cache of illegal arms with sufficient power to destroy the City of New York", "a cargo of arms was confiscated with the potential capacity to destroy the center of the City of Los Angeles". The value of the of these weapons, explosives or war materials has been given to the public not in terms of its manufacturing cost or much less in terms of its black market price, but given according to destructive powers towards buildings, bridges, hospitals, houses, and human beings.

In the meantime, when we see, hear or read that in an airport of any given city there has been discovered a shipment of cocaine with a street value of $20 million we ask ourselves: Why not as in the case of seized weapons don't they give the value of drugs in terms of its capacity to destroy human beings, the majority of which are young? Why is there no mentioned made of the physical and moral injuries suffered by society in general and the death that are invariably caused by these drugs, instead of giving their value in terms of dollars?

The mass media has a tremendous capacity to influence people. They influence they way they think, dress, act and react. Later the way in which news about drug traffic is presented is without a doubt creating a temptation, unfortunately, for many of those with an "elastic" morality or perhaps with a mind somewhat disturbed, and such persons may perhaps be tempted at some time to take a short trip that could result, perhaps, in making a couple of million dollars, with little risk, given that making a conservative estimate they only discover between and five and ten per cent of the huge volume of all types of drugs that traffic in this country. Even assuming the bad luck of discovery, a good deal of technicalities, delays, deals, and laws, he will come out to the world after a laughable prison sentence.

If news about drugs were reported to the public in the same manner that news related to arms are being reported, the public would be conscious that drugs are capable of as much or more damage then an entire weapons arsenal. For example, could we report news about a seizure of cocaine, marijuana or heroin in this fashion: "Today at the Los Angeles International Airport a shipment of cocaine capable of converting into mental retards all the students in 25 high schools of the Los Angeles area....", or perhaps like this, "Angel dust has been seized that has the capacity to trigger the suicide of more than 5,000 young men or women", or this, "Five men transporting 150 pounds of marijuana were captured. This amount of marijuana is capable of bringing demoralization, vice and moral decadence to 1,000 families in our city."

If these stories were reported in this fashion, we are sure that it would help many with the temptation of dedicating their life to the traffice or use of drugs. If additionally, judges imposed truly severe sentences on trafficeers and upon reporting these news emphasis would be made on sentences received by these people, perhaps the time would come that the volume of this "death commerce" would drop sufficiently so as to not be the great threat it is today.

"Anti-nuclear" demonstrators who are so concerned about world destruction by nuclear arms perhaps ought to pay a little more attention to the potential and real danger in drugs, and among these we include alcohol. As the world continues the way it is going, soon there won’t be any young men to push buttons to fire nuclear missiles or even to fire a trigger because their minds will be totally wiped by the use of deadly drugs that kills them little by little.

How sad it was to read that the multi-millionaire DeLorean, a man with several university degrees, intelligent, of good appearance, with a beautiful family and future, and who perhaps in a moment of vascillation, insecurity or simply economic problems, allowed himself to be carried away with the temptation that we have mentioned earlier.

Now we see his life destroyed, his honor on the ground and his future behind bars.

Another point, perhaps the most important of all, is that drug traffice is today on of the pillars that supports the communists international, to penetrate and destroy psychologically this great nation.

Many of us already know how a great part of the volume of the drug traffic at world level arises, such as in the case of heroin in communist China, and in the case of cocaine and marijuana which in great part, has its base of supplies and refuge secured in communist Cuba, through which Country passes a great part of all the commercial drug traffic between Latin America and the United States.

Civic, cultural and social institutions have a duty to penetrate this problem, confront it full force, combat with all the means available and insist that public authorities proceed more energetically against these elements that try to destroy most of all our youth. Without them, there will be no tomorrow.


END


Abel Perez
Editor
20 DE MAYO
Los Angeles

Éste y otros excelentes artículos del mismo AUTOR aparecen en la REVISTA GUARACABUYA con dirección electrónica de:

www.amigospais-guaracabuya.org