(May 25, 2012) — A few weeks ago it was discovered that South Korean smugglers have been trying to get capsules made of baby flesh into the country. They have managed to acquire 17,500 such capsules with diced, dried and powdered flesh on the inside. It sounds horrific, almost unreal. The desire for these capsules comes from the fact that some people believe they have healing powers. Many people have superstitious beliefs of some sort, but when those beliefs impede them from living a deliberate and healthy life, they become nothing but hindrances. Superstition does not equate to religion in any sense; superstition is nonsensical, vague, meaningless, irrational, while religion—or a lack thereof—has ties to how one identifies himself. By that logic, are these South Koreans in the right? What they are after is good health, after all. Those capsules may well have adverse effects, but the conscious choice they made was for their health and nothing else. This is when it becomes difficult to lay criticism on superstitious people; this is when it is unfair to judge them. If a person knocks over a salt shaker it means nothing besides that he knocked over a salt shaker. If he does in fact have a fight with someone afterwards, it is only a coincidence. There is no universal force willing him to have that fight; it’s him and him alone. People who cannot take responsibility for the things that happen to them invent irrational justifications to make themselves feel better; if you were to ask them why they feel this way, they would not be able to form a coherent response. Society and their personal lives throughout the years have inculcated in them the willingness—the need—to believe in downright ludicrous things to make themselves feel better. In other words, they need a crutch. The “healing” capsules are that same crutch; those people do not know for certain that the capsules will help them. Maybe some of them are even aware that they could harm them, but they need a crutch and they take it. While not heinous, their actions are not respectable. Others need luck. They need lucky charms or special rituals, which is unnervingly similar to what someone with obsessive compulsive disorder would do, to make themselves feel more hopeful and optimistic that their endeavors will go as they wish. What rational people rely on is their own inner strength and a faith in themselves. If someone is religious, they rely in part on whatever that religion dictates, and that’s respectable if not agreeable. If people were to negate the influence superstition has over their lives, they just might come to realize things that they never would have otherwise. They might come to better understand themselves—why they make the choices they make and why the things that happen to them happen to them. The people who were smuggling capsules made of baby flesh in South Korea were probably desperate to cure themselves or their loved ones of some illness. Otherwise they just wanted a safety net in case of something that might happen. Instead of relying on verifiable medicine and healthy lifestyle choices they made a desperate and illegal choice fueled by fear, greed and superstition. Some of them may have known deep down that it was all a farce, but they chose to try it regardless. It’s harder to criticize them because what they were after was good health. Motivations aside, relying on superstitious avenues limits one’s personal growth and makes him forget that he himself can maintain his health and he himself can do great things.