Straight Edge Awareness

Other than coffee, and my psych meds, there are no chemicals which go into my body to alter my mind or emotional fitness.  I stopped smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol without much attention to my actions.  It took several months of being sober before I realized that sobriety had become principal to my state of consciousness and wellbeing.  At that time, the decision to go straight edge had been made.

Despite being somewhat devout in adherence to straight edge philosophy, I’m not very knowledgeable to how it relates to anarchy.  Not everything must be intellectualized, however. Here, I will espouse my own understanding of how the straight edge lifestyle fits in with liberation and anti-capitalist ideologies. 

First, being fully present to partake in life’s simple pleasures, without augmenting consciousness with illicit drugs—or alcohol—cultivates a great deal of self-awareness.  Self-awareness is a great means towards self-reliance; in turn, as we become clearer to how we maintain resolve in the midst of tyranny, we become more in tune with the welfare of all human beings.  Movement towards feeling the feelings of injustice, and relating these feelings to other’s welfare, elevates our political relevancy.

Outside of being more connected to our political/social consciousness, remaining drug free is a great means to give added nourishment to the soul.  Our minds are one of the most connected to our soul organs which inhabit our bodies.  And freedom of the mind, which may soak in the entirety of our existence with sobriety, allows our soul to be cultivated with purer intention.  Moral underpinnings of living drug free allow us not only to rid our minds and bodies of toxic chemicals, but, ourselves, of the toxic vices. 

What we do to remain pure, in our personal practices, gives us the emotional resolve to create health and well being in our lives.  Sobriety can have importance to one’s political ideology because it connects us to our own welfare.  Being healthy, and being of an alternative mindset, produces a personal social culture of understanding, and empathy.  And in these things we may find the need for solidarity—and true, uncompromising, equality.