I have always wondered how drunks and drug addicts get away with so much. How, because of this disease myth crap. There is a commercial on tv about a bunch of people saying they wish that they had cancer or whatever so that people could understand their disease, that of drug addiction. Give me a break! I grew up with these so called diseased people, they are the best at what they do. Even today I see these people get all kinds of help from the church no less,and lay around drunk! Just recently when a friend and I were discussing this very thing she tried to say they couldn't help it and I said that was crap. That very idea feeds into a drunk or drug addiction so they do not have to take responsibility for their actions. And the harm that is done to the countless innocent victims is tragic. And they themselves can only be seen as a car running all about without a driver just running over people. I pray for them all but I will not make excuses for the harm they do. Yea they are losers but in todays cutural they can't help it!> sarc. But maybe that is what draws them to Islam
OK, but why are some people seemingly incapable of taking responsibility for their actions? Why can't they control themselves. Call it a lack of character, or a lack of willpower, whatever you want. You could even say that they deliberately choose to stay in their addiction. But why? Why do some people go down that road? If a person is of poor character or weak willpower, is that their "fault?"
I don't know, but it's always been an interesting question to me. Why are some people prone to addiction to one substance or another, and others not? I believe in personal responsibility, but I'm not sure if addiction is just a behaviour, or if possibly people that suffer from it really do have an inherent problem, or lack of something, that most of us don't, and if so, is it their fault? I suspect this discussion starts to veer into philosophy and questions of free will and such like.
In any case, while I might be able to excuse an addict's addiction, that can never be an excuse for otherwise unacceptable actions, such as theft, sexual abuse, DUI, etc.