Addiction

"We're all addicted to something." - Thumbsucker (movie)

I was thinking about all the things people are addicted to and made a list:

alcohol, non-prescription drugs, cigarettes, porn, medication, adrenaline, religion, music, fashion, fitting in, being different, losing weight, technology, success, failure, love...

The list goes on and on and on, but the point was clearly made. Excess of something is said to be a bad thing. So, is the person who’s addicted to drugs in just as bad shape as the person addicted to success? In a sense, yes. Success, opposed to non-prescription drugs, is legal, and it’s encouraged and desired. But just watch the movie Wall Street, or just watch the real thing, and you might argue that it should be illegal.

But this isn’t about success. It’s about addiction. We all have it. And we’re all trying to beat it. Or maybe we’re not.

In the case of religion, one may argue that it’s a good thing to be addicted. But look at the everlasting conflict between Israel and Palestine, or go way back to the Crusades, or just consider current issues (i.e., suicide bombers). So, yeah, religion has caused A LOT of problems.

Maybe addiction in all cases IS a bad thing. But if we are all addicted to something, why do we evaluate another person’s addiction and are eager to voice our (dis)approval? To find out the answer on this matter, maybe we should ask the people who are addicted to judging others and the ones addicted to attention…