I am tempted by a byline in an online newspaper. It reads: "The Cities That Said Yes to Drugs," written by Michael, dated July 30, 2026. It's posted in the Atlantic Journal, which requires a subscription. I don't have one. But after reading the first four paragraphs and the introduction:
Policies that gave addicts clean needles and places to use drugs were intended to reduce harm. They created a “zombie apocalypse,” I know what the story is about.
It's about not learning from the past.
If we don't learn from the past, what is the purpose of the past?
Back in 1961, the United Nations issued "The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It was a treaty written to combat a recognized surge of drug abuse. It required all nations who joined, in the simplest terms, to create legislation and follow through with penal consequences.
The world knew there was a problem. How big it would get, they couldn't foresee.
Switzerland in the late 1980s had a solution. They created Platzspitz Park, a designated park to use drugs. Police would look the other way. The "problem" would be contained. ***
The problem wasn't contained. The park population grew from approximately 200 users to 20,000.
I remember reading about Platzspitz Park in the 1990s, and looking at the photos. I was appalled by the gone-wrong social experiment with good intentions. But the unintended consequences were overwhelming. The park became an environmental disaster. Drug deaths, filth, and crime. Unattended children. An iron fence was erected, the park closed.
And now The Atlantic Journal highlights the same problem of US cities that went soft on drug abuse. The author of the article labeled it a zombie apocalypse.
I hold a masters degree in US History. I focused on twentieth century history. After an intensive study and teaching of the Vietnam War, I could look at twenty-first century wars and ask, "Didn't they learn from Vietnam?"
I see the pattern again and again. It is so disturbing that if there were a presidential candidate who was a professor of American history, he or she would get my vote.
Every issue we wrestle and blame others for, requires a look inward--our own self evaluation. The past. Learning from it. How many times have I failed to do better the next time because of the last time? Though my mistakes are on a smaller scale--Vietnam played out over twenty years and killed over a million people. But not learning from my own past is as impactful as being at war.
May I have the courage to learn and act from the past.
***https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-politics/zurich-s-infamous-needle-park/37756262
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