No, in fact most of the time I would rather not think about the almost 800 tons of cocaine that flood our borders each year. Or the $70 billion dollars that we American’s spend on cocaine – that is not fun for me. As a mother of small children I purposely ignore the statistics that state there is 1 in 10 chance that my kids will use cocaine before they get out of high school. Let’s not talk about it. Why don’t we go to the store and buy some bananas and have a nice snack? Everything is lovely, we’re all lovely- let’s not rock the boat.
This is the first approach to cocaine, and perhaps many of you are agreeing with me. How about some nice baby photos or some produce right about now? Sorry, but once I discovered that Central American Authorities routinely confiscated boats carrying 5 tons of cocaine I moved to approach number 2.
“These people need to be stopped!!” Jarod just laughed at my shock and outrage, “What, did you think people were carrying it across our boarders in little plastic baggies?”
“Well, yeah! I don’t know… maybe… I guess I just had never thought about TONS of it before!” That’s a lot of money…. At $100 a gram… a ton… well… we just need to do something about that. Bring on the guns, the police, the coast guard. It’s us against them – good people and against the bad people. Stupid rotten narcotraffickers coming to get my children! Make tougher laws, longer jail sentences and tighter boarder security.
But the more I read, the more approach #2 falls apart. First of all, we’ve been there done that. And you know what? All the people who are supposed to keep us safe take bribes. They want a little bit of this gargantuan pie that is the drug trade. If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. And we will never beat them because where do all these farmers and traffickers come from? They come from poverty. They come from no other better way to make a real living. Supply and demand. And as long as there are poor people – there will always be people to make and get the supply to our children.
So this leads to approach #3. I like approach #3. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and hopeful. We rich people need to help the poor people. Humanitarian aid here we come. Let’s make OTHER jobs for these people. Let’s let them grow and transport a better crop… like bananas or coffee? Ouch… this is where is hurts. They can’t, because you see through some amazingly complicated and nasty history we rich people have taken that market. And gosh darn it – I don’t want to pay more than 67 cents a lb. for my bananas! Now, how they grow those and manage refrigerated shipment all the way up to Wal-mart is NOT MY PROBLEM. Or maybe it is. Because as long as 67 cent bananas is the only employment competition for $100 a gram crack - I am in trouble. I am blaming and wanting to arrest people who grow and transport this stuff because in reality if they don’t do it they might see their kids starve. Their kids starve or my kids smoke crack. Their has got to be another way.
And there is. It is approach #4. And it kinda, to tell you the truth, sucks. It tells me that cocaine is my problem. Just like every other problem that faces our society and (in this global economy) our world – we are in this together. My greed, my sins, my willingness to live on the backs of my global neighbors has real, true, deadly consequences. And I wish I believed that approach #3 would work, but I have this inkling that most of the world is like me. That most of us are going to have a hard time paying more for coffee and bananas. That at the heart we are all more selfish than we want to believe. And you know what? It crosses national boundaries. Even if I paid $4 a lb for my bananas it is still no comparison to a narcotrafficking wage – and if given a chance a minimum wage paid farmer or fisherman in Central America would probably still take the dirty job for more money. Because greed is the human condition. This is the boat we are in.
Neil Postman, in his book, “The End of Education,” puts forth the argument that if we don’t have a metanarrative that our children can take part in - believe in - they have no reason to learn. We, in our postmodern society have lost the goal, the end of education. I think he’s right and maybe we have lost the end to life in general.
So, here’s my metanarrative – my approach #4. We are all in this boat of sin, greed, and selfishness together. Humanity, since the day we turned our back on God, has made the world what it is today. No matter what issue I look at – cocaine, the environment, poverty, child abuse, etc. – we did this and “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” But that somehow in the midst of all of this, God is bringing about a plan that my finite mind cannot comprehend but He has given me clear instruction on how to live. In faith rather than fear. In generosity rather than greed. Because of Jesus, I can be in relationship with the God of the universe… the God who is in the process of making the universe right again. And I can join him in this process. The gospel response to cocaine says, “Jude, it is about more than ‘just saying no’ for no reason – it is about saying ‘no’ because there is more to life than bananas and highs.” The gospel response says, “whether I am a grower of coca plant, a narcotrafficker, a policeman, politician, or boarder patrol taking bribes, an affluent partier weekend user, a desperate crack addict, or a housewife buying bananas and coffee, I am on a boat sinking in cocaine and the only way out is Jesus’ way.”
All this to say that last week I picked up these 2 items at the store – so approach #4 hasn’t made it from my head to my heart – to my hand with the debit card. So we are moving to Honduras December 28. Does this make sense? Didn’t think so… but I tried to explain it….
1 comment:
I also recommend Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death"
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