This commentary is by Ed Baker of Burlington. He is a person with lived experience of injection drug use, and has been in recovery for 39 years. He is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers and an activist.
Something has been seeded in each and every one of us. Many would call this “something” a soul. It is the root of morality, the vine of integrity, the fruit of our lived lives.
It’s sweet with what we call unconditional love, unconditional safety, deep regard and compassion for the down-trodden, an inherent refusal to leave the wounded to die.
The most well-known vignette describing this is the story of the Good Samaritan, who expresses lifesaving love to a man lying beaten, about to die. In this story a Levite and a Priest, both smug and full of pride, pass by too busy to care, leaving the beaten man to die alone. Both passers-by must live with the consequences of who they are, their decision and their behavior, the fact that they neglected to act with compassion to save a life.
The Good Samaritan, in bold contrast, although at cost to himself, both saves the man and his own soul. He is rewarded internally having adhered to deep moral principle; he has integrity.
It’s this deep moral principle we must embrace.
Some would call it an “ethics of reciprocity,” meaning that you should reciprocate to others how you would like them to treat you. Others would refer to no less than the “Golden Rule,” to treat others as one would like to be treated by another.
We are faced with ever-increasing accidental drug overdose deaths year after year in our state, our communities, our homes. The human need for protection among our population of Vermonters who use drugs could not be clearer. They are at the mercy of the merciless, international crime organizations reaping wild profit at the cost of our loved ones’ lives.
The science is unequivocal and exhaustive at this point. Overdose prevention centers save lives; prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C; prevent endocarditis and blood borne infection; decrease public drug use and syringe-litter; succeed in referring a high degree of participants to other health-supporting service providers; do not increase crime and save city governments substantial spending in law-enforcement, emergency-response, hospital care and public sanitation costs.
H.72, an act providing for the funding and creation of an overdose prevention center here in Vermont, in Burlington, has been sent to Gov. Scott for his signature. Both the House and Senate have clearly expressed the will of the people. The governor has repeatedly expressed his intention to exercise his veto power regarding H.72.
We, Vermonters, are at a decision-point today. Like the Priest, the Levite and the Samaritan, the opportunity to act upon deep moral principle is undeniably before us. What will we decide?
Will we pass by this opportunity to act on our deep moral sense of compassion and love? Or will we pause, pay attention to that moral voice within us, and honor that inherent refusal to leave the wounded to die.
Please consider signing-on to this letter urging Gov. Scott to sign H.72 and allow it to become life-saving law in Vermont. This is a moral imperative at this point.
