Dividing Into Two Kinds of Addicts

IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF OKLAHOMA sits Cherokee nation, terminus of the infamous Trail of Tears, Andrew Jackson's favorite project, which was not called the Trail of Tears until long after hundreds of people dropped dead walking along it. Jackson hated Indians, for the usual reasons; they tended to not embrace Christianity, and, well, they didn't dress properly, they shared land in common, a no starter among capitalists, and they tended to pass gifts around, hence the term "Indian giver". Perhaps feeling guilty, Old Hickory adopted an Indian child. When the "Indian Removal Act" was being debated in congress, only the Eastern liberal intellectuals, who had nothing to lose and no Indians in close proximity, opposed the bill, and, David Crockett of Tennessee, who like his pioneer colleagues lived close to the natives, and who had a great deal to lose, and lost it. Davy said he had rather be a man and vote his conscience, than be Andrew Jackson's puppy dog, and wo gee haw as his bidding. (horses do that, not dogs, but who's counting). David had a great deal to lose, including his seat in Congress, and he lost it, only to gain it back later. Jackson and Crockett hated each other. Crockett was a far nicer person, and much more fun to drink with. He told great stories, usually about hunting bears. Crockett, like his hero Daniel Boone, loved Indians. They tended to be more honest, more generous, and less pretentious than their European destroyers. Twice, according to David, they saved his life. Everyone who got to know the Indians loved them. Davy (he always called himself "David" and signed his name that way) had the temerity to assert in the House of Representatives that Indians are human, and had been promised the right to remain in Georgia forever, and when another member disputed this, David replied: "Congressman, that don't make good sense. Hell, that don't even make good nonsense!" Davy Crockett is a man to be loved, dearly, a true American hero who was actually an even better person than history makes him out to be. Today, Cherokee nation is afflicted by three great evils; gambling, widespread opiate addiction, and widespread meth amphetamine addiction. Leave it to the United States of America to inflict its worst poisons upon those it values least. Either drug will get you in trouble when it comes time to decide whether to hold fast or accept just...one..more..card..at the blackjack table. So, we have divided this once proud people, like the rest of America, into two classes, the "uppers", and the "downers". We have divided the country into two parts: the conservatives and the progressives, each full of hatred for the other, and we have divided ourselves into two kinds of drug addicts, the opiates and the amphetamines. Somewhere in hell, there must surely be a special place for our misguided, and stolen country.