Here we may see once again that ethics and social hygiene are at one.
Until now the theologians and the lawyers have treated these mental
conditions by denouncing them as deadly sins and imprisoning the
unhappy victims. This is disastrous to morality, to the unfortunate
persons themselves, and to society at large. Expert mental treatment
with a view to a fundamental cure is the first necessity.
Here, again, alcohol and narcotics in general are the stone which
sets the whole avalanche in motion. The use of alcohol produces
mental inferiorities by its corrupting influence upon the cells
(blastophthory), and many people whose weakness of mind is traceable to
this cause cannot resist its use, and so become dangerous inebriates.
Once more, it is the source and fountain of the evil that must be
stopped.
But there are other hereditary diseases and degeneracies of every kind,
not only of the brain, but of the whole body, such as the disposition
to tuberculosis, rickets, short-sightedness, and diseases of the blood,
all of which are related to sexual life and morals, because they are
all more or less injurious to the individual and to society.
If persons suffering from such diseases have children at all they must
proceed with the greatest caution, and they should always be instructed
as to the hereditary nature of their maladies and the risk of their
transmission.
And now can we not hear the dictates of a truly human moral code, based
upon the facts that we have just considered?
_It is true that we cannot change the present hereditary nature of
man, but it is none the less our duty, now that Science has revealed
this nature to us, to prepare for our posterity a greater degree of
happiness and a higher standard of social life than we now possess.
To this end we must first strive with all our might to destroy the
all-corrupting supremacy of private capital and wealth, with its
exploitation of human life and energy; and we must further combat the
use of all narcotic poisons, especially that of alcohol._
_We must not rest until these two deadly monsters are overthrown._
_In the sphere of sexual life we must endeavour to replace by truth
and justice the present-day hypocrisy which parades under the false
banner of “morality.” We must also restore to woman the same natural
and equal rights possessed by man._
_Moreover, we must no longer be content to remain indifferent and idle
witnesses of the senseless and unthinking procreation of countless
wretched children, whose parents are diseased and vicious, and whose
lives are for the most part destined to be a curse both to themselves
and their fellow-men._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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