British Journalist, Johann Hari has spent a total of three
years conducting research concerning the drug war. In this ted talk he points
out that addiction is not what society thinks it is.
Reich’s cultural parables are used in the delivery of Johann
Hari's speech especially the Benevolent Community. The idea of the benevolent
community is that society comes together for a common good. This method
involves self-sacrifice, connectivity and community pride. Hari uses this
method when he describes the way drug addictions should be handled. He states
that instead of threatening the human connection, society should really involve
that person with connectivity and love more. This creates a non-threatening outlook
on life. If the drug addict is able to make connections with society through
friends, work and hobbies then they will no longer need to do drugs. This may
be a hard request for some individuals with close family members or friends
that are addicted, as they will most likely want to combat the situation with
restriction, control and even anger. The idea is for the family members and
friends to put those emotions and fears aside for the addict and embrace them
with love instead. Hari uses both a cognitive effect and receives and affective
consequence. He explains why this method works, while still addressing emotion.
One of the process premise used here is consistency. Hari
argues that instead of making the social future of the addict’s unknown and
threatened as "punishment" for their drug use, it would be more
affective to create a consistent environment of love and support. Along with
this comes attitudes. The typical attitude towards drug addicts is disgust.
Hari pushes the idea that we need to change attitudes towards the drug war in
order to win it by stating that the isolation drug addicts receive out of their
piers pure disgust only worsens the deeper issue and feeds their addiction.
What a great video to provide the viewer with perspective!. It's very easy to dehumanize or objectify things unless they involve you directly. I have a brother-in-law who has fought addiction for most of his life. One of the things that he has really struggled with is connection as Hari suggested. This is a topic that fits in with The Benevolent Community very well. Showing love, generosity and compassion could go a long way in things outside of the drug addiction issue as well. Great post and perspective!
ReplyDeletereal eye opener to some of the stuff that people go through. It's easy for me to forget about the rest of the world not just the one's in the U.S. Great views of some different ways to try and handle things. Good job using the Benevolent Community.
ReplyDeleteI really like this concept. We often ostracize people we perceive as druggies, and put them in a category of their own.which is no way to encourage growth. This is a great concept of the benevolent community.
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