Ends, Means and Everything In Between
Anthony
The Los Angeles Times reported that a lay chaplain was arrested on drug paraphernalia charges in San Antonio, Texas. His crime: handing out clean syringes to drug addicts to curtail the spread of HIV. Does the punishment fit the crime? At face value, his act sounds wonderful. Curtailing the spread of HIV is an admiral goal — and necessary. But ask yourself, do the ends justify the means? After all, he’s reducing the spread of disease. But should we really support criminal activity? All of us have various “whims, wants and needs” that we could use to justify criminal or at least unethical behavior? Some people steal to pay for drug addictions. Should we hand out free drugs? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a value judgment on the poor souls who are so addicted to drugs that they will risk everything for the next hit. But if we really want to help them, let’s get them off the streets. Let’s get them off the drugs and back into society. If they don’t, the sad fact is that most of these addicts will die if they don’t get help. While I admire the minister’s desire to help, I think offering a clean syringe to these addicts is like giving someone a clean fuse for a stick of dynamite — either way they’re dead. I think everyone would be better served if instead we offer them a clean hand to help them climb out of the gutters.
Posted on: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 8:11 pm 
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