Mooses Ram's Mixed Metaphors By Moisés Naím

Introduction

Opioid addiction is a tragedy that affects countless of Americans on a daily basis. Almost everyone is acquainted to someone, who suffers from opioid addiction. Everyone, but specifically family and friends of the victims to opioid addiction need to understand why their loved ones are so susceptible to becoming addicted to opioids. The word opioid in itself is complex to define, but it entails a variety of prescription medications. Most opioids are used as pain management medications and qualify as CII medications also known as narcotics. They are supposed to be used on an “as needed” basis, but that is not the case for many users of opioids. Opioids cause great fear in the health community because they are easily addictive and

Author Moisés Naím’s “Mixed Metaphors,” challenges the concepts of metaphorical wars declared on social issues by political leaders. The author finds that notions like those of fighting the “war on terrorism” are unrealistic because the word “war” implies there will be a clear winner, when in most cases, the struggle continues on. The author does an exceptional job in communicating the ineffectiveness of metaphorical wars. This is so because declaring a metaphorical war on something like terrorism or drugs does not hold any weight, and is more of attacking an idea or concept rather than an actual, physical issue. For example, terrorism is an idea and a tactic, and the real problem is a deeper issue that cannot be conveyed in a single word. The author does not focus heavily on addiction itself rather he explains an ineffective process to combat addiction. This article will not be a useful source because it is predominantly about ending a war with opioids rather than understanding opioids and addiction. This article is not like any of the articles listed because the focus of this article is an attack on opioids rather than facts and statistics that lead to a better understand of the underlying causes of opioid addiction, which is the main focus of many of the other articles