Thursday’s Butler Eagle reported on a 34-year-old Clearfield Township man arrested for DUI after measuring 3½ times the legal limit for alcohol. His identity isn’t important here.

Police said the man fled in his pickup when they tried to stop him because, he later explained, he hadn’t finished his drink.

“He related that he did not stop because he knew he was DUI,” according to court documents. “He also related that he wanted to drink more and continue to smoke his cigarette.”

It’s a deeply disturbing attitude, reflecting the man’s understanding and acknowledgment that his behavior was selfish, dangerous to himself, the police and others, and even suicidal — and he didn’t care.

What’s particularly alarming is that he’s not alone in this attitude. Consider the 20 confirmed drug-overdose fatalities already recorded in 2017 in Butler County. That’s a rate of three dead every two weeks and we’re on pace for 80 overdose deaths this year.

It could be accurately described as an epidemic of hopelessness; a plague of despair. Drug users shoot up, knowing their addiction might kill them any time. And they don’t care.

How did we as a society get here?

Psychologists recently have taken to quoting 6th century B.C. philosopher Lao Tzu, who observed: “If you’re depressed, you’re living in the past. If you’re anxious, you’re living in the future. If you’re at peace, you’re living in the present.”

A more modern version might be the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger: “I can’t get no satisfaction, but I try.”

Well, we’re not at peace withour present, are we? But which is it: Are we depressed and dwelling in the past? Are we anxious and dwelling in the future? Or, is it both, and we’re realizing there’s not much of a toe-hold in either the past or future?

Look at our political climate: The majority of Butler County voters backed presidential candidate Donald Trump whose slogan, “Make America great again,” promised a return to good old days. The optimistic lift they experienced in November has worn thin five months later.

Meanwhile, those who backed his opponents, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, could attest to an ongoing anxiety for a future that borders on indignatant panic, with slogans like “not my president” persisting.

It’s not that we need or even intend to draw any ties between the mood of Butler County and presidential politics — except perhaps to note that they might be symptoms of the same hopelessness many feel.

It might be helpful gravitating to the central point that philosopher Lao Tzu was trying to make; namely, get a clear picture of the present — and find peace there.

This newspaper’s continuing mission is to reflect reality of the day, not only as seen by law enforcement, political, cultural and business segments. but also with analytical, ethical and philosophical facets of a vision for the ideal community we should strive to be. The analysis should include perfunctory nods to our past and our future — but more important, it should stay rooted firmly in the present.

That’s why it seems imperative to look beyond the drug epidemic and peer into the malaise that’s feeding it. When people don’t have a clear vision for their community, they tend to get exactly what they envision.

It’s why we should worry for the future when drivers would rather chug rum on the run and refuse to stop for a cop.

A strong vision enhances a community’s livability for every resident; it balances concerns for past, present and future.