Our Government Is Murdering Its Own Citizens

By Lee Horton, Guest Columnist

I am about to start raising holy hell because I now have nothing to lose. The doctor that has been taking care of me the last 5 years is suddenly scared to death and cutting my pain meds, while my insurance is cutting my benefits and raising my deductible and co-pays.

I live on Social Security disability and a meager pension that leaves me with little extra cash at the end of each month. I can no longer afford to fight both disease, injury and now my government. All of these have become the enemy of good health.

I am no longer "entitled" to my life I guess. Since I'm not a taxpayer thru payroll any longer, they do not see me as having any value to this nation. I have accepted that my only future is to have no future at all.  That's what they have left me with. I'm not good enough, wealthy enough or important enough to save and treat humanely or morally.

I'm being discarded like the trash that my government thinks I am because I have a need for medicines that they are uneducated about and don't understand. 

The whole "Opioid Crisis" is just a massive coverup for our government's inability to stop the flow of illegal drugs that are entering this country by the truckload every stinking day. They are the ones that have failed. They are the people that have gotten us all in trouble. They are the ones that created a "drug problem" in this country.

LEE HORTON

Why is it that almost every other nation on the planet with more liberal drug policies has less of a drug dependence problem?  The answer is quite simple. It is because this country views every problem with a punitive solution. The perspective of our leadership is skewed to make everything appear to be criminal when it’s done by the public, but legitimate when done by the federal government.

We might even be seeing a foreign policy tactic by allowing China to export their drugs for sale in this country. Who the hell knows? Remember the “Fast and Furious” gun scandal, Iran-Contra, Noriega, Afghanistan and the Mujahedin? Point being, this government has done it before.

What I do know is that I'm done. I'll no longer be quiet, and I won't let them get away with murder. That's exactly what they are doing, our government is murdering its own citizens by putting us in the position of either suffering every day of our lives or ending our lives.

And we send these callous, heartless and unimaginative politicians to Washington DC so they can lie and hide the truth from their constituents. If any of those people in DC truly believed that the source of the opiate epidemic was the pharmacy, they would be educating themselves on these drugs and how they also benefit more people than they harm.

But we don't see anyone doing that, do we? We see politicians, department managers, and the heads of the FDA, DEA and other agencies all looking for someone to catch and blame so they can score some points with Congress and get a bigger budget next year.

A good general or military planner always looks for the potential "collateral damage" when putting together a battle plan. The FDA, DEA and Congress have not done that, or they would not have been painting with such a broad brush.

Patients Need to ‘Rise Up’

I'm done with all that BS. I probably only have a few years left, so if I am to have any chance at making any difference and helping anyone that suffers in chronic pain, I must start now.

I have spoken to my doctor about this and he agrees that the patients need to "rise up" and start making noise, and the public needs to be educated and told the truth about the overdose stats the government and media keep listing. The vast majority of opiate-related deaths and overdoses come from heroin, illicit fentanyl, and other illegal street drugs, not the prescription pain meds that they are using as a scapegoat.

This is as good a place as any to start my war on stupidity and ignorance.  I want others to hear why I need these medications that the public is being taught to blame the ills of society on. I have yet to steal a car stereo or rob a liquor store to support my “habit.”  THAT is what the government and the media want the public to imagine when they hear of someone taking opioids.

This is about the health and well being of American citizens that they are placing at risk. It's easy for them to live with collateral damage when it's in Syria or Afghanistan, when they don't have to see the faces and know who and how many they hurt. Let's see if they are still so eager to cause suffering when it's their own people.

All the work and risk by colonists to discover America and build a nation, free from persecution and suppression by a corrupt government -- out the window.  We’re right back where they started. Literally out of the 16th century frying pan and into the 21st century fire.

Is this proof that liberty, freedom and independence are not yet possible for the human race? Are humans insufficiently evolved? When I see deliberate, intentional cruelty and the persecution of anyone, it makes me stop and wonder.

Lee Horton lives in Texas. He has osteoarthritis, neuropathy, stenosis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, fibromyalgia and numerous broken bones due to workplace injuries and accidents. Before he was disabled, Lee worked for 40 years as an operating engineer in heavy construction.

Pain News Network invites other readers to share their stories with us. Send them to editor@painnewsnetwork.org.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.