Anam Cara

Addiction: Obsessed Longing

One of the terrible metaphors of post-modern society is the drug. The addiction to drugs is arguably one of the greatest problems facing Western society. When drugs hook you, they make your longing captive. The depth and complexity of your life telescopes into one absolute need. Regardless of the presence of others who love you, the gifts that you have, the life that you could have, your life now has only one need, the drug. The longing of the addict is a craving for which he will sacrifice all other belonging. It is astounding how the inner world of the human heart has a capacity for such absolute single-mindedness. Addiction is longing that is utterly obsessed. There is no distance anymore between the longing and the drug. The longing determines the life. The drug has the power of a sinister God; it awakens absolute passion and demands absolute obedience.

A drug is an anonymous and unattractive piece of matter. For the addict, however, this banal stuff shines like the most glorious diamond imaginable. When the eye sees it, the longing is already travelling in the direction of pure joy; no wonder they choose names for drugs like “Ecstasy.” The addict has no memory. All time is now; either the now of joy or the tortured now of longing for the fix. Far away from the dingy streets where the addict moves, probably out in the most scenic and beautiful area of the city, live the suppliers. They make their wealth from the misery of those poor demented ones for whom the city streets are an underworld. The suppliers work international routes which are the same as the international routes for arms. At a broader cultural level, drug addiction is a profound metaphor for contemporary society. The marginalized addicts are the scapegoats for the collective addiction in contemporary society. The obsessive nature of our culture comes to expression in the addict. The addict is visible, tangible, and vulnerable. The addict is always on the margins of belonging.

Another group who have to endure absence through losing or giving up belonging are those who are emigrants.