Washington Hold 'Em Gambling shouldn't be banned, but the real social problem should be addressed Justin Hartfield
Outlawing gambling is like cutting off the head to spite the body. Gambling is human instinct. The first humans on Earth probably gambled on which color mold would grow faster on a neighboring stone slab. How did our primal ancestors come to realize that smoking random fauna could get you high? Or rubbing plant juice on your skin could actually help heal it? All gambles.
These acts were risky, and the motives for these risks were selfish. They were selfish because despite the fruitful reward of risk taking and succeeding, these payoffs are secondary to the actual emotions expressed through the risking, losing, and winning itself. The emotional rush of the gamble can be an addiction tougher to break than Oxycontin or speed.
Indeed, there have been many lives destroyed by gambling. The close proximity of casinos and Indian reservations (statistics say the average American lives within a two hour drive of an Indian casino) make it extremely convenient to feed the addicted. The rise of the Internet casino has made it easier still for these dependent masses. Unforunately, there does not seem to be an easy and effective solution to this problem. An easy and foolish solution is to ban gambling all together, which is exactly what the US government has slowly been trying to accomplish for the past several decades (with the hypocritical exception of the state lotteries that line state coffers).
A nationwide ban on gambling is not the correct solution, however. The social blame should not be placed on the casino who facilities the release of these powerful human instincts. The casinos exist simply as supply meeting demand. Vegas was built on the power of the Demand. The Demand for emotional release, from gambling or any other vice, will always be big business; indeed, it is the oldest profession in the world.
The gambling industry should not be blamed for making these profits at the moral expense of the gambling addicts, even if such behavior seems like "exploitation" to some. This "exploitation", in fact, is the same as in almost every retail store we shop. That $1.75 grande Mr. Pibb you bought at Del Taco cost the restaurant a couple pennies.
The problem is not our primal urges, either. Without them we would be inhuman; the problem arises when we relent to these urges without using rational thought. Human beings are the only creatures capable of reason and we distinguish ourselves by the use of it to temper our behavior. It is our human calling to sharpen our intellect and restrain our desires, just as its the bald eagle's calling to gracefully scoop a fish out of the water with one sudden thrust.
The power of reason gives us the ability to peer into our actions and analyze them with no emotional static interfering with our thoughts. Obsessive habits such as gambling all stem from the same problem: a person with an unrefined sense of reason. Over-eating, over-spending, and over-sexing are all problems faced by people without the wherewithal to step out of their own bodies and see their actions for the personal sabotage that they are.
But reason is hardly life's panacea. Unconstrained reason without emotional passion is asking for a colorless life. The enjoyment that millions of gamblers gain from their hobby should not be dismissed as mere hedonism - the pursuit of such diversions involve the very freedoms our nation exists to defend.
One must be capable of balancing reason and passion in order to responsibly gamble, or even generally to achieve optimal emotional and physical health. This delicate and difficult balancing requires critical thinking skills to analyze our actions while embracing our in-born instincts and deepest emotions. A daunting task, indeed; that is exactly why there are so many gambling addicts. But it is one that can achieved. However, the skills can only be achieved by either education or experience - not by banning the very situations that require personal responsibility.
Education is the more gentle of the two teachers. If we teach our children the hone their reasoning skills, the problem of excessive gambling (and other addictions) would begin to decline. Knowledge of the liberal arts, science, and math can be very valuable in the right hands. But those hands must be given the right tools. There should be more courses on time-management, organization, personal responsibility and budgeting, so that a responsible lifestyle is more easily achieved by all.
Gambling itself is not the social problem; the mind-set behind the obsessive gambler is the problem. By emphasizing the root of the problem, we can eliminate the symptoms like gambling addictions or substance abuse. But the freedom to enjoy gambling responsibly should not be abrogated in the process.
