A Crucial Element of Democracy

This is a blog by Robert Gutierrez ...
While often taken for granted, civics education plays a crucial role in a democracy like ours. This Blog is dedicated to enticing its readers into taking an active role in the formulation of the civics curriculum found in their local schools. In order to do this, the Blog is offering a newer way to look at civics education, a newer construct - liberated federalism or federation theory. Daniel Elazar defines federalism as "the mode of political organization that unites separate polities within an overarching political system by distributing power among general and constituent governments in a manner designed to protect the existence and authority of both." It depends on its citizens acting in certain ways which Elazar calls federalism's processes. Federation theory, as applied to civics curriculum, has a set of aims. They are:
*Teach a view of government as a supra federated institution of society in which collective interests of the commonwealth are protected and advanced.
*Teach the philosophical basis of government's role as guardian of the grand partnership of citizens at both levels of individuals and associations of political and social intercourse.
*Convey the need of government to engender levels of support promoting a general sense of obligation and duty toward agreed upon goals and processes aimed at advancing the common betterment.
*Establish and justify a political morality which includes a process to assess whether that morality meets the needs of changing times while holding true to federalist values.
*Emphasize the integrity of the individual both in terms of liberty and equity in which each citizen is a member of a compacted arrangement and whose role is legally, politically, and socially congruent with the spirit of the Bill of Rights.
*Find a balance between a respect for national expertise and an encouragement of local, unsophisticated participation in policy decision-making and implementation.
Your input, as to the content of this Blog, is encouraged through this Blog directly or the Blog's email address: gravitascivics@gmail.com .
NOTE: This blog has led to the publication of a book. The title of that book is TOWARD A FEDERATED NATION: IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL CIVICS STANDARDS and it is available through Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

AMERICANS AS THE CAUSE, II


[Note:  This posting is a continuation of a report on the development of a civics unit of study.  This unit is directing students to formulate informed positions on the opioid epidemic.  Presently, this development, in real time, is reporting a set of factoids on the responsibilities Americans bear for its tragic consequences.]
This blog is currently about tracing the responsibility of Americans in the initiation and continuation of the opioid epidemic.  To this point, specifically in the last posting, this account has traced how heightened use of opioids came about.  It, for example, pointed out the role the government and medical profession played in encouraging and prescribing these drugs.  Attention now shifts to the actual acquisition of opioids.
          To assist in this inquiry, one can cite a number of studies.  In turn, these studies are not totally in agreement with each other.  An earlier study in 2013 reported that opioids were being attained, at a 74% rate, from a variety of sources:  a doctor, a friend, or perhaps a relative.  The origins of these sources were often a clinic or one its workers.[1]  But since then there have been evidence of other sources.
          The biggest “scoundrel” is prescription providers.  Usually that would be a doctor or a clinician.  In addition, there has been illegal sources playing a significant part.  Here the drugs most often provided has been heroin and illicit fentanyl.  A lot of this portion of that market are users who, under prescription regimens (even if abused), became addicted.  More recent policies, given the resulting drug problem, have restricted legal sourcing and, those who are already addicted have turned to illicit sellers of these two opioids.[2]
          An interesting statistic is that in 2015, fifty percent of drug overdoses did not occur from taking prescribed opioid drugs – which on the surface seems to cast an accusatory finger at their users – most of them got started with a lawful prescription.[3]  So, it is difficult to say that those who early on were caught up in this nightmare of opioid abuse, are totally at fault for the ensuing epidemic.  As has been either hinted or right out claimed, both the medical profession and the drug companies can be held highly responsible for what has resulted.
          But this cannot be said for how the epidemic has progressed.  Since the early days, other evidence has emerged that shifts more of the responsibility to newer users.  In 2018, a study informs that up to 75% of opioid abusers began using that drug without a legitimate prescription.  Apparently, as the opioids became popular for their inducement of euphoric highs, consumers did not begin obtaining and using the opioids for medical reasons but for recreational purposes.  Therefore, one can judge these newer users as being more responsible.
          As such, they, to a great degree, are causing many deleterious effects associated with this epidemic.  Among them are high death rates, higher incidences of spreading communicable diseases, and the various economic costs attributable to the epidemic.  These effects take on various forms.  Some are direct, some are indirect costs.
Currently, more people die of overdoses – in 2015, 33,000 – than die of car accidents.  Heroin deaths outnumber of deaths caused by gun fire.[4]  Economic and tragically intense emotional costs are those emanating from orphan children who find themselves without parents due to overdosing.[5]
As one analyzes the costs, they pop up in varying forms.  So, reported in 2013, once all the costs attributed to the health care, funds expended on related criminal justice expenses, and other related costs are totaled, that figure was $78.5 billion.  Again, that was a while ago.  The progression of the epidemic has grown significantly since then.  For example, just two years later, the estimated cost rose to $504 billion.
So, overall there is enough blame to spread among various parties:  the pharmaceutical companies, medical professionals, slack family members and friends who do not secure their opioids, and the users themselves.  The last area of historical facts this account will review – in the next posting – will be demographic information.


[1] Edward A. Shipton, Espeth I. Shipton, and Ashleigh J. Shipton, “A Review of the Opioid Epidemic:  What Do We Do About It?”  Pain and Therapy, June 2018, vol. 7, no. 1, 23-36, accessed July 24, 2018, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40122-018-0096-7 .

[2] Jonathan Reiss, “Opioid Crisis:  What People Don’t Know about Heroin,” May 18, 2018, accessed July 24, 2018, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/opioid-crisis-what-people-dont-know-about-heroin-630430/ .

[3] Edward A. Shipton, Espeth I. Shipton, and Ashleigh J. Shipton, “A Review of the Opioid Epidemic:  What Do We Do About It?”

[4] Christopher Ingraham, “Heroin Deaths Surpass Gun Homicides for the First Time, CDC Data Shows,” December 8, 2016, accessed July 24, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ .  A reported number of US deaths in 2016 was 64,070.

[5] Jeanne Whalen, “The Children of the Opioid Crisis,” The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2016, accessed July 24, 2018, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-children-of-the-opioid-crisis-1481816178.

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