“The deadliest enemies of nations are not their foreign foes; they always dwell within their own borders” — Henry James.
Knock on your own door. Everything you need comes from inside your house, so don’t waste time seeking things on someone else’s doorstep. Many of PNG’s social problems begin in people’s homes. One reason why drugs are pervasive is because of the disintegration of family unity and values which results in strained relationships and broken homes.
We see the trauma experienced by young people when drug arrests affect their families; when assault and physical violence make homes “houses of horror” as parents abandon them; or when family members are caught up in the self-destructive, violent world of drugs, either becoming addicts, drug pushers or dealers.
Testimony
This is the testimony of a proud young man who became enslaved to drugs: “I have just turned 22 years old today. Some five years ago, I found myself almost giving up all hope. I was lonely, confused and desperate. I was convinced that my family didn’t love me. “I knew deep within my heart that I was not the perfect person. I wanted my parents to believe. I felt I had let them down. They had cared for me all my life. I was a failure. What a depressing picture! No-one seemed to understand what I was going through.
“I didn’t understand either why I got into this mess. “Every toea I could get I spent on marijuana. I wanted to quit but I didn’t know how. Inside, I was crying out for someone to get me out of this living hell.I have rejected everything from good advice to knowing God. “My answer came in the guise of a person who is now my mentor. Led by the spirit of God, I began the long painful journey back to reality. My mentor visited my family who had abandoned me and reconnected me to them. I began to experience the inner power of love and forgiveness and see myself very clearly.
“I began soul searching, and admitted that I was powerless over my addiction. My life had become unmanageable. I came to believe that only a power greater than myself could restore my sanity. “Using my will power, I turned my life over to God, and I made a searching moral inventory of myself.
“I admitted my wrong doing to God, myself and the people that I had hurt. I wanted God to remove my character defects and I humbly asked him to forgive my shortcomings. I made a personal inventory of those I had harmed, promptly admitting whenever I am wrong. “Through prayer and meditation, I maintain my conscious contact with God. I am free. As a result, of this awakening I try to carry this message to others, like me, who need help”.
The Real Enemy
We can seal our borders and coastline, enact the toughest criminal sanctions and employ the full might of law-enforcement agencies but the flow of illicit drugs will continue. As long as there is a demand, the supply will continue, either from outside or from within. The drug menace was not imposed by drug pushers, we have brought it “upon ourselves”.
People cultivate marijuana plants, create drug markets, set up drug trafficking routes and operate the drug rings on street corners, and in markets, pubs and the alleys of our towns. We are all vulnerable to the onslaught of the greatest enemy of all — temptation and desire — which lurk within all of us and must be overcome. Our attitude towards overcoming the desire for drugs is reflected in two famous sayings:
* “I count him braver, he who overcomes his desires, than he who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is the victory of the self”; and
* “For the first time in my life, I recognise that the devil I had been looking at in the mirror for 43 years was me”.
The real war is the one fought inside ourselves, where there’s no retreating to self-righteousness, or saying “its not my problem”. To win the war, we must know more about drugs, what they can do to us and what drug trafficking is. We must also overcome the real enemy — ourselves. The temptation to use drugs is always there and the impulse to shun collides with the impulse to embrace. So who is vulnerable to drugs? The difference between those who do drugs and those who don’t lies in the question, “Who am I?”
The constant search for one’s identity hopefully reveals someone who is solid and never gives into the enemies from the outside. The absence of such an identity can be overwhelming, which inevitably will lead to an emptiness that will be masked by drugs and alcohol.
Know Yourself
What is lacking more than anything else in the life of an average, well-intended person is a reflective mood. Many people do not reflect upon important things, the problems of their lives, the direction in which they are going, what life is giving them, the reasons for determining actions, or the reality between principles and conduct.
By knowing ourselves, we can live life to the fullest without chemical assistance. Those who lack a personal purpose in life show us that they are vulnerable. Everyday, we must constantly make choices about many things, and between good and bad. This is not easy because we are always responsible for our own acts.
The successes or failures of our lives rest squarely on our own shoulders. Individual choice gives us the freedom to do drugs or not, try them or stop using them, or become enslaved by them. One thing is certain, for those who choose chemical dependency, it may be a momentary experience of delight; but it is guaranteed to be pure hell on earth.
Some Perceptions
* As we grow in self-knowledge, we begin to understand life’s contrasting principles — slavery and freedom, success and failure, ease and suffering and life and death. Without its contrasts, life would be a dreary, empty monotony;
* As we come to understand ourselves and become fully aware of life’s many alternatives, we will recognise that every choice is a great risk, which has accompanying consequences.
Disapproval from one’s peers, being branded a marijuana kid, ostracised from one’s circle of friends and finding people critical of our viewpoint are some of the many painful choices;
* No gem can be polished without friction and people cannot be perfected without trials;
* As we discover “who we are”, we become self-assured and confident. All the temptations become challenges and opportunities for greater growth. There are only two choices — to break down and succumb, or break through and continue shining and growing. We lose our power of choice when we let others control our lives or allow drugs to dictate our destiny. The only person who knows what is happening inside you is yourself. You are the only one who can step out and overcome tempting habits.
Conclusion Know yourself, because there are rich rewards for those who put order in their lives. Life is one of the greatest challenges we will ever face as we battle against the enemy within, and fight burning desires deep within us.
By knowing ourselves, the self-esteem enables basic decisions about values, commitments and loyalty to principles to be made to help us in our fight against drugs. People are not conquered from without, they are destroyed from within.
Why live in a prison when we can be free? Why let negativeness, fatigue, disillusionment, and failure disturb our peace of mind and defeat us. Why choose things that imprison and lead us to harrowing adventures in a land of no return?
Each of us has the power to discern what is good or what is dangerous. We only have to choose. When we discover who we really are, we can conquer the enemy within. Knowing oneself gives meaning to life. It is the inner cover of our life that meets our personal demands and makes the difference in life. Say no to drugs.
*Matthew Nelson is a Research Officer in the Political and Legal Studies Division at the National Research Institute.
