RE: Can Right Coexist With Wrong? – Drop in the Ocean – Constitute
You hit this one really, really close to home for me. I have a child on anti-depressants. It took me two years to agree to it, and I only got to that point because I ended up having to put him in the hospital because he was so incredibly depressed he just couldn't even get out of bed. It was awful.
I'm of mixed emotions about it. I don't like it. But I've also seen how he self destructs without it. And yes, I keep a very close eye on him. I've tried to teach him that the medicine is only to help him level out; the other parts of actually being happy are up to him, just like they are to everyone.
I think every tool we have has a good and bad side. Knives can be used to cut food or people; computers can be used to spread knowledge or porn or hate, and so forth. Pharmaceuticals can help, and they can hurt. I don't like that pharmaceuticals are marketed to the masses who, for the most part, don't have the education to understand the right questions to ask. I think we'd agree that Big Pharma has tipped the scale from "helping people" to "making money" as the motivator. There's no reason both can't happen, but the guidelight has been lost.
I'm sorry to hear about your child's condition, and understand that I'm not putting the blame on the drug, or suggesting the drug doesn't work. In this case I'm just saying that a drug that causes some people to commit suicide should never have been allowed to be taken by people that are on-duty pilots, or that do any kind of work in which they would kill innocent people along with themselves if it happens to them.
We know that the antidepressant drugs do have a flaw that is deadly, and therefore these drugs should be strictly controlled as to who can take them, so as to consider people taking the drug and the danger involved in their jobs, and if other people could be hurt by them on their job, then they should be reassigned to do danger-free work instead once they are prescribed antidepressants.
Big Pharma pressuring the commercial flight industry against banning the drugs for pilots would illustrate the evilness in their greed, and innocent people losing their lives is an acceptable trade-off to them, to keep the sale of their drugs at the highest possible numbers by making sure the drug is not being banned for anyone doing any job.
I truly hope your child is healed with the help of the drugs, and grows to enjoy a fruitful and productive life without the need for them anymore!
Oh, absolutely, I'm not questioning your statements. My son has been lucky in that his doctor does not want him to be reliant on the medication; it's viewed as a tool to be used along with other tools such as exercise and diet. If Joshua's behaviour ever changes (and it has) the first suspect is the medicine. That's the level of care-giving I like to see from medical professionals.
I agree, an over reliance on medication leads to horrible consequences, and I'm distrustful of big pharma too. I hadn't heard of the story of the pilot you mentioned, but I'm sad to say it doesn't surprise me. I remember when the Exxon Valdez spilled and Exxon tried to shy away from responsibility to clean it up. That was what soured me to "big business." Profits should not come before the public good.
Thank you for the kind words! He's getting better, definitely a work in progress. I'm looking forward to the day I can take him off too. It's a positive goal to work toward. And thanks for understanding where I'm coming from! It's nice to be able to have an actual conversation with shared ideas.