Isn’t it funny that in the attempt to force ethics and strict righteousness, the method for doing this involves half truths and exaggeration? If the fight is fought by hypocrites, is there really a war in the first place?
Fact-
Alcohol is a leading cause of death among youth, particularly teenagers. It contributes substantially to adolescent motor vehicle crashes, other traumatic injuries, suicide, date rape, and family and school problems.(1)
Fact-
Every day, on average, 11,318 American youth (12 to 20 years of age) try alcohol for the first time, compared with 6,488 for marijuana; 2,786 for cocaine; and 386 for heroin.(2)
Fact-
Alcohol is by far the most used and abused drug among America�??s teenagers. According to a national survey, nearly one third (31.5%) of all high school students reported hazardous drinking (5+ drinks in one setting) during the 30 days preceding the survey.(3)
Fact-
More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year (about 4.65 a day) as a result of alcohol-related injuries.(4)
I believe it is time for the illegalization of alcohol. I would push for this to be our PRIMARY concern in this country when it comes to “saving the children”, however, it would seem that there is a much larger issue at hand and our children are in peril! According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, in a 2002 survey, youth were asked how easy it was for school aged children to obtain steroids. 22% of eighth graders, 33.2% of tenth graders, and 46.1% of twelfth graders reported that steroids were “fairly easy” or “very easy” to obtain.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I take what children say in surveys to be the absolute truth…because kids are very reliable sources of scientific information for which we can make direct laws in relation to. I recently told my doctor that I would no longer be seeing him because he is over the age of 40…and therefore, less reliable than a 12 year old.
From http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/92SteroidUse.cfm , Among twelfth graders, steroid use in past years increased from 1.1% in 1992 to 2.1% in 2003.
Did you read that?! A WHOPPING 2.1%!!! The children are dying!
The Newspaper, the Oakland Tribune (Mar 28, 2006), asked “Have we thrown out ethics and honesty in baseball? President Hoover once said, “Next to religion, baseball has furnished a greater impact on American life than any other institution.” If President Hoover’s statement is correct, what impact is the taking of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs having on our youth today?”
To this I can only respond that I relied on professional athletes to make honesty and ethics their main priority. Is it too much to ask that a man making millions of dollars not have unprotected sex with anyone but whoever he may be married to?! Is it too large of a request to expect for them to not abuse alcohol, gamble or generally act in ways that the average Buddhist Monk would not?
I say we tell children today that any substance that would not appear in the medicine cabinet at their local church is deadly, evil and downright socially unacceptable. It is time we put a stop to all of the lies!
References:
(1) Ninth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health from the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Rockville, MD: USDHHS, Public Health Service, Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Jun 1997. Kann, L., Warren, C., et al., Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance�??United States, 1995. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep CDC Surveillance Summaries, 45(4):1-84, Sep 27, 1996.
(2) Data reported by Jill Schmidtlein, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse, Feb 13, 1998. The data were extrapolated from Preliminary Estimates from the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 1997.
(3) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance �?? United States, 1999. June 09, 2000 / 49(SS05);1-96 Kann, L., S. Kinchen, B. Williams, J. Ross, R. Lowry, J. Grunbaum, and L. Kolbe., Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance --- United States, 1999 accessed June 19, 2001.
(4) Magnitude of Alcohol-Related Mortality and Morbidity Among U.S. College Students Ages 18-24: Changes from 1998 to 2001; Ralph Hingson, Timothy Heeren, Michael Winter, Henry Wechsler; Annual Review of Public Health, April 2005, Vol. 26: pp. 259-279.