A Good Society (and People Like Me)

I began smoking when I was seventeen years old. Smoking was not just a habit that I relied on for provisional relief, but rather a familiar friend that I can count on for liberation. Cigarettes provided an escape from my parents, whom constantly bickered about financial problems, my father’s gambling and health problems, my mother’s emotional problems, how my academic goals do not satisfy their desires, et cetera.

My relationship with cigarettes was nothing less than a happy marriage. When I felt stressed, I smoked and my habit was positively reinforced by the immediate fulfillment I felt. I even slept better and woke up happier.

Soon, I was having an affair with hookah. It was twenty times better than smoking cigarettes because it literally felt like I was smoking twenty cigarettes at once. The vast amount of tobacco in hookah supplied instant gratification with a single inhalation. I was in love. I thought about nothing, worried about nothing, and all I contemplated was about what flavor of hookah I should try next.

I was completely aware of the negative effects of smoking, but the positive effects were such a great reinforcer that giving it up was simply not something I thought about. Although smoking conditionally freed me from my problems, those problems exist regardless of how often I exercise my habit.

It is evident that in a good society, one should not engage in actions that harms oneself. There are things an individual can do to improve his or her well being. There are things families can do to improve their relationships. Certainly, there must be things citizens can do to improve society. If everyone felt helpless and turned to drugs for release, progression and development would end and a good society no more.

With a high degree of democracy, economic stability, political freedom, independence, and non-governmental intervention (unless necessary), a good society can thrive with trust among citizens.

I am also happy to say that I no longer engage in such practice because I learned that although 65,000 people under the age of 18 become addicted to cigarettes monthly, 1,000 people also stop smoking daily – by dying.