RUSH LIMBAUGH, BEEN THERE, DONE THAT | 2003-10-11
Rush is right. There is nothing heroic about being hooked on drugs.
Yes, Virginia, I did THAT wrong, too! I went through recovery and "the program" for a long time.
It can't be just a matter of Will Power and Courage. The death rate in recovery is enormous, and a lot better men than I am died trying to dig their way back from addiction.
You might think that people with a low level of natural drive would get hooked on stimulants, "uppers." You might think that people who are too "up" would take calming drugs to get "down." It's just the opposite.
In my high-pressure occupation I used stimulants to keep working day and night. In high-pressure places like Hollywood and Capitol Hill it is the stimulant cocaine that is popular. Over a century ago Conan Doyle had his wildly aggressive Sherlock Holmes using cocaine, not opium or morphine.
So I tend to think that Rush fell into his drug overuse by accident. I don't think he would naturally choose the drugs he did because they are "downers." He could not stop using them after they were prescribed.
This "uppers" and "downers" business is not an absolute rule.
Anybody who states an absolute rule about addiction is a self-righteous moron or he is somebody who gets paid for his opinions.
And he probably lies about other things, too.