Let me start by saying that I was not a fan of Prince. He was a darn good guitar player, but I just did not like the rest of his act. As far as his addiction, well, what can anyone say? Yeah, it is a shame. I know a bit about chronic pain and I can sympathize with anyone trying to seek relief. Unfortunately, opioids are about the most effective pain killers. I have no good answers to the problem.
I have heard that surgery would have solved his hip problems and that his interpretation of his Jehovah's Witness beliefs kept him from surgery. Again, I know little of those beliefs, but, if that is true, then it shows the need to find spirituality that bases itself on rationality. I am quite convinced that our Creator does not want us needlessly suffering when, by using these huge brains we have, we can relieve physical pain. But, again, each person is entitled to their own beliefs and must live with the consequences of those beliefs.
What galls me, what infuriates me, is the attention these issues get when a celebrity dies. Why is the death of Prince more of a tragedy that the death of some kid who ODs? Why is his addiction so worthy of notice when, for years now, many have suffered through addiction. Moms, Dads, Aunts, Uncles, Grandma and Grandpa, teachers, businessmen and women, nurses, all sorts of folks have struggled with this National scourge. Now, CNN has Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta doing specials and the media everywhere are wailing and bemoaning this problem.
Why is there the current crisis of addiction? Well, a few tears back, doctors, at the urging of pharmaceutical companies started prescribing Oxycontin at an alarming rate, claiming that this new drug posed little risk of addiction, at most a 1 in a 100 chance. In fact, this was not a new drug. It was created by the Germans on the 1940s when it was known as Eukodol and was known then to be brutally addictive. Yes, folks, at the risk of upsetting the naïve among you, I will say that your Government cooperated with big Pharma in a lie.
Then, the oddest thing happened. We went to war in Afghanistan and the Taliban, which had stopped opium production, started growing it again, growing huge crops and cheap heroin flooded the US. At about the same time, doctors began saying . oh, oh, we have to stop prescribing pain pills, they are addictive and this has resulted in Grannies and Moms having to go out and score Heroin to feed their habits. This is an old story. During Vietnam, the CIA was running opium from Indo China and during the Iran Contra fiasco, the same CIA was funding that mess by bringing in tons of cocaine. Some powerful folks, some with Government connections are making huge money off human frailty.
This goes on and on and no notice is paid by the media until some celebrity ODs, then they go into a feeding frenzy and Government officials start promising action. Then, the novelty wears off and it's back to business. The only purpose is a temporary distraction from real problems. That is why celebrity deaths are so played up and the public just nods its head and sheds a few mock tears and awaits the next death notice. We have become a Celebrity Death Cult and this needs to stop.
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