On June the 18th, in the year of our Lord 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs. The Obama administration, with a number of states declaring marijuana legal, tacitly considers the war over and the term "War on Drugs" counterproductive. Nixon's declaration came after the sexual and drug revolution of the sixties (remember Woodstock and the advice to girls being raped, was to "lay back and enjoy it."). Timothy Francis Leary was the High Priest of LSD. Young people walked off of high buildings believing they were Super Man. It was the beginning of the end for the America we grew up in and loved.
A "War" indicates a serious effort to overcome or even annihilate the enemy. The generation that grew up in the thirties and forties are familiar with "total war" as personified by WWII. The destruction of London by the Germans and the later bombing of Germany and Japan by the Allies were considered a necessary part of war. In the War Between the States (The Civil War to most of us), it was Sherman and his march to the sea that destroyed the Confederate bread basket and swayed the balance of that war. In the Bible, many ancient wars involved the putting to death men, women, and children. This was true in the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6:20-21) as well as the destruction of the Amaleck by king Saul (1 Samuel 15:3).
Alcohol, which would include other mind altering or inhibiting drugs, is warned against by God in the Bible. Proverbs, God's handbook on living, states: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived [or lead astray] thereby is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1). We are familiar with the fact drugs, alcohol or otherwise, can make a fool of an otherwise sober or prudent person. Paul admonished the Christians at Ephesus not to be drunk with wine wherein there is excess but rather be filled with God's spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Peter reminds Christians that, before being born again (John 3:5) "we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries" (1 Peter 4:3).
America has played war games rather than a total war on drugs! This is illustrated in the then first-lady Nancy Reagan's campaign against drugs with a "just say no!" in 1984; as well as then Senator Joe Biden's provision in the Omnibus Crime Bill (1994), for the execution of drug kingpins but neglected the lower ranks. The only successful War on Drugs is that waged by Singapore. It provides execution if found carrying large amounts of specified drugs. The stats are clear, marijuana abusers in the United Kingdom is 8.2% while in Singapore it falls to .003%.
God put it this way in Romans 13, "For rulers are not a
terror to good works, but to the evil" (verse 3) and "he is the minister of God to thee for good
... he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon
him that doeth evil" (verse 4).
Surely, as the
Bible states, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any People" (Proverbs 14:34).
If we wish to continue to be, as we pledge, "one nation under God," we must, as John expressed it, "walk in the light, as he is
in the light ... the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John
1:7). However, "If we say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John
1:8).
Dale I. Royal, Elk City OK