Response to America's Altered States Joshua Wolf Shenk raises numerous provocative arguments in this essay dealing with the culture of drugs in America. He rejects the easy answers to questions of drug abuse and searches for deeper philosophical meaning. His main thesis raises an interesting point: America is addicted to both illegal and legal drugs. Shenk then attempts to address questions relating to this point. Why are Americans so dependent on drugs? What makes a drug good or bad? Shenk arrives at no definite conclusions, but brings many difficult questions to the surface. Americans must identify the philosophical reasons of why we desire the effects drugs produce, in order to form a reasoned opinion on the drug problem of this country.It is difficult to react to a paper with so many different points, but overall, I agree that America is addicted to all kinds of drugs. I also think that this is a problem, which does not have any easy answers. The economy does have a lot to do with increasing our dependence on drugs. The questions at the bottom of this moral dilemma are not easily answered. Why do humans long for escape from themselves? Is it because of the lack of fulfillment modern society provides? Or is it part of human nature, independent of time or place? I don't have the answers to these questions, but I do believe that searching for this escape in drugs is wrong. Dependence on a chemical of any kind is detrimental to one's well being. That is why I steer clear of most drugs in any circumstances. They simply aren't worth destroying myself for the short-term benefits....
