Misconceptions

There are a lot of misconceptions in this world and many of us are guilty of having certain misconceptions about particular people, places, and things. Since reading Deeply Rooted by Lisa Hamilton, I have realized just how many misconceptions people can have about one subject without realizing it. She talks about the misconceptions people have about dairy farming, ranchers, organic farming, and original land owners. The biggest misconception I had that came up during this week, was the problem of drug and alcohol abuse throughout agricultural lands. Whenever I thought about people losing control of their lives due to drugs and alcohol, I would usually think about people in urban areas. I think this is a common misconception by most people. Society tends to generalize what kind of people would be caught in these types of predicaments, which for most, are people in areas that face major poverty. This is true for many cases, but a lot of people do not take into consideration the mental illnesses that usually arise that cause these addictive tendencies.

“He begins by explaining that drug use nearly always stems from a personal loss.” The people of New Mexico in Deeply Rooted could easily be classified under people who are succumbing to substance abuse due to losing their jobs and now facing poverty, but their is something deeper that is causing the abuse. Citizens of New Mexico are abusing drugs and alcohol because their original lands were taken away. The lands that the people of New Mexico owned meant more to them than just helping them make money. Their lands meant that the people of New Mexico had freedom and independence. When their lands were taken away, they lost this sense of freedom. A great deal of drug and alcohol abusers all over the country have faced some sort of loss that has ended them up in their depressed and addictive state. From reading Deeply Rooted, I have realized that to help people overcome these addictions I have to try and stop having misconceptions. I now have to take a step in understanding what people have gone through and what they are currently going through that is keeping them stuck in the abusive state. Maybe then I can help people move forward.