The True Act of Courage
Simone Riva - Last Wednesday was World Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Pope Francis dedicated his June 26 general audience to this very topic.
At one point, without mincing words, he said, "A reduction in drug addiction is not achieved by liberalizing the use of drugs - that is a fantasy - as has been proposed or already implemented in some countries. You liberalize, and you use more.
Having known so many tragic stories of drug addicts and their families, I am convinced that it is morally right to put an end to the production and trafficking of these dangerous substances. How many death dealers there are - because drug dealers are death dealers - driven by the logic of power and money at any cost!
And this scourge, which produces violence and sows suffering and death, demands an act of courage from the whole of society.
Over the years, I have met many people who have fallen into the grip of addictions that are not just drugs.
Alcohol, gambling, and various deviations often mark the lives of the young, the very young, and even adults who find themselves in a "self" that they no longer recognize.
Yes, because this seems to me to be the real challenge. What need does a man or a woman, a boy or a girl have to escape into drugs or anything else if he or she has the certainty of the self?
When there is a lack of awareness of being loved and wanted, sought after, and preferred, it opens a time of great confusion in which one is at the mercy of every circumstance.
Many criminal phenomena are related to the use of drugs that allow one to do what one would not normally do. The alteration of the self, which goes hand in hand with the alteration of reality, opens the door wide to any uncontrolled action.
But in all of this, is there anyone who cares about our hearts? Or are we destined to each seek our own escape, our own hiding place where we can pretend to be what we are not? This is not a challenge we can delegate to experts or law enforcement. And it is certainly not a solution to liberalize substances, as some have always claimed. Rather, it is an educational issue that we must all embrace.
At stake is the possibility of discovering the meaning of life or surrendering to the futility of passing the time, of discovering the gift of freedom, or passing from one slavery to another. Added to this is the frequent feeling of being out of place, of being wrong, of needing to be "taken care of." I was moved these days by the dialog I had with one of the boys who decided to become an animator during the summer oratory.
Unexpectedly, he let me into his world of exciting and special things. Seeing me as someone sincerely interested in his presence made him feel at home, so much so that he told me: "Talking with you keeps my batteries from going dead." Perhaps the silent cry of those who are on the road to self-destruction is just that: "Don't drain our batteries. Do not exhaust us. Look to us instead, for we are here too. Have our hearts at heart!"
Only men and women grappling with their own humanity will be able to grasp the magnitude of this dramatic challenge. Perhaps this is the real "act of courage" that is needed.
The author has not revised the translation. The article appears in the column of Il Giornale di Monza. Download.
