I hate it when I read stories like this.
“Officials say 18-year-old Johnny D. Smith had pledged to the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at all-male Wabash College. The Tucson, Ariz., native lived at the fraternity house but had not yet been initiated. Smith's mother told The Indianapolis Star that her son was found Sunday morning face down in a pool of vomit.”
There’s a lot of things that can be brought out in this article, and here’s a few I find important.
1) People have a sick sense of humor
Maybe I don’t find this funny because I’ve only gone to a private Christian university and transferred to a community college. Maybe I don’t find it funny because I look with disgust on the practices of fraternities and don’t understand why teenagers and college-aged people can’t be comfortable to go outside of the line.
2) Innate trust
I think each person is entitled to a sense of trust, and I hate it when people go against the naturally considerate nature to help someone. I have an innate sense of trust that probably won’t help me in the future. I’m not afraid of people walking down the street, even when I’m in a neighborhood known for shootings and stabbings. If someone wanted to hurt me, then they would walk right up and hurt me. But if that happens, then it happens; there’s nothing I can do about it.
A friend of mine lost a dear friend to something we don’t even know. He set his (non-alcoholic) drink down, went back to it, finished it, and then went home where he died in his bed. Not only do I think it’s not smart to hang around people that make dangerous choices, but how could the kid have known who put the deadly substance in his drink? How would he have known to not go to that party? There was alcohol, but he didn’t drink any. There were probably drugs, but he never took part in it.
3) Peer pressure
Why don’t people stand up and step out? Why don’t, when someone disagrees with something, he take a stands for what he knows to be true and sticks to it? Has the world lost a sense of morality and a sense of conviction as well?
I really don’t know how to take this story. In the end, I feel terrible for the parents. I can only imagine that the only thing they want to do is vomit at the sickness of the world we live in…
This is one of the reasons I'm glad that my school bans fraternities and sororities. This is also one of the reasons why I never go to parties. Ever. I mean, I trust my classmates: I could leave my computer or wallet sitting in the student lounge, and no one would take either. But at the same time, people can be incredibly stupid. Especially when they're drunk.
College is supposed to be a place of education, and sometimes it just sickens me to hear about what goes on at these parties.
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
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Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!!!
I do not drink, but I am in a sorority. This is definitely Greek life on my campus where people are sent to the hospital and drunk and such and I won't deny that there is drinking at events that my sorority attends. But there is never any pressure to drink and no hazing in my sorority. Majority of our activities prove that we can have fun without alcohol and I think that is powerful.
I had a misconception about Greek life before I met my best friend and one of my spiritual advisors and confidant. She was in a sorority and I followed her in that endeavor. I feel bad that I had such a terrible misconception of Greek life and that I judged people who joined. It was not until I did so myself, that I realized that NOT all sororities and fraternities fit into this stereotype.
Just something that I thought you should consider...
True, not all fraternities and sororities fit into the stereotype. But sadly, a lot of them do.
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
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Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!!!
If the United States was more like western european nations we would not have as big of a drinking problem and this event and those like it would have probably never happened .
We need to lower the drinking age and allow kids to experiement with alcohol before they are thrown into the new world that is college.
If kids learned how drink responsibly at a younger age, like the Germans do, they would not go out and binge drink. Devin Knox
While I don't quite agree with you on the lower-drinking-age thing, alcohol shouldn't be put in such a bad light. Then kids wonder what they're being kept from and they experiment, thus (possibly) leading to alcoholism and death...
Read and comment as you like.... http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
My university's president signed a petition to lower the drinking age to 18, but I don't know what your idea of lower it to would be, but I feel that it would just create problems in a different area. If drinking was allowed at 18, you would learn to drink and drive at the same time! Not exactly the best mixture. I am not a fan of alcohol, and I understand that often teens will do things less when they are allowed, but I think that they fact that people are away from home and "free" contributes to the attraction of alcohol, which then leads to recklessness. If it is not alcohol than it would be something else that is abused.
In Canada the drinking age is either 18 or 19 (depending on the province you live in). We don't have quite the same problem with underage binge drinking like the States does - although it's still a problem - but we also don't have fraternities or sororities or places that pretty much mean you're going to end up at giant parties, surrounded by alcohol.
I think lowering the drinking age to something reasonable - such as 18 - will expose these kids to alcohol sooner. Face it, 95% of the young population wants to try it. Movies glorify it, TV shows glorify it - drinking is cool! If the drinking age is lower, the kids will be exposed to the bar experience earlier. They'll see how people drink responsibly (although certainly not everyone drinks responsibly in a bar). The bartenders will be there to make sure the kids don't drink too much - it's part of their job. Perhaps then college will not be equated with alcohol.
Then again, we still have problems with underage parties up here, and it's a lot easier for kids to get the booze because their siblings are usually legal and can pull for them. I think the European method is best - expose them to alcohol early and for their whole life. If they can learn what alcohol does, what a limit is, and why binge drinking isn't good early in life, they'll be better set to deal with alcohol in a college setting.
The biggest problem in my mind is movies that glorify drinking, equating binge drinking with the college experience. Take that awful movie "College" that just came out. It's all about one wild alcohol-filled weekend! Kids see that, and they think that college is all about drinking with the frat brothers. Get rid of fraternities (are they really necessary?), ban alcohol in all college residences (not sure if that's been done down there), and hopefully try to make Hollywood show responsible drinking in their movies - even showing responsible underage drinking is better than the crap they're showing now.
Do they ever show kids dying from alcohol poisoning in their movies? Drowning in their own vomit? Passing out and choking on their own vomit? It's not a pretty sight. They even glorify puking from drinking. I mean
a) It's so not a fun experience; and
b) It's ridiculously dangerous.
[/rant]
Anyways, I definitely agree with your blog!
Now that's the best argument I've ever read for underage drinking. I think you might have me convinced.... :)
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
I completely agree that movies and other aspects of our culture are really the root problem of America's issues with alcohol. If the culture does not paint it as attractive, sexy, and what people should be doing, I think there would less of a problem.
I hear what all of you are saying, but one thing rings true for drinking. At a young age of 18 and quite often through mid twenties, few people drink responsibly. Think about the reasons for drinking an alcoholic beverage. From the first drink until the last, drinking for taste is seldom what brings someone to choosing an alcoholic drink over a non-alcoholic one. For many, drinking responsibly is avoiding alcohol altogether. Until late twenties or so, seldom is anyone mature enough to be responsible in this area if they are inclined to choose an alcoholic drink.
I am not a teenager, nor a twenty year old, but a forty-four year old non-drinking mother of a twenty-one year old boy who has a real problem with alcohol. He had his first drink when he was about ten years old when first introduced to it by his elder sister of three years. As an older teenager he has been pushing himself to the limits with alcohol and marijuana use. The combination is not good and as his parents, we are about ready to give him some intense choices that could make or break him right now.
All prayers are humbly requested as I share with my son some of what has been offered by all of you here in Starving Musicians post. Responsible drinking will probably not come from non-drinking parents, and if parents must drink I order to teach their kids responsible drinking something is terribly wrong. I agree responsible drinking is important if you are going to drink. But what about the option of not drinking at all? I am in my second year at the local community college and there are so many kids that don't drink at all. Others are so heavily into drug use I don't know how they make it to class at all. Drinking is a choice and whether the law says you must be eighteen or twenty-one, if someone wants to drink, they are going to do it. Age as few limitations in most areas when one wants to engage in this behavior. I am not saying at all that drinking is bad altogether. I am not sure if Jesus drank anything but wine and water, but I believe drinking should be delayed as long as possible. The age of individuals that become interested in drinking are usually not at an age they can make responsible decisions about where it is safe to drink and whom to drink with, or analyze why they are drinking and when it is alright and when it is not.
I live in a hick town where most have no conscience in the first place. Drugs are rampant (Meth can be found within every five square miles I am told), alcohol is used as much as a pain killer...it is their pain killer. Homeless teens abound under bridges everywhere and ten years old are having babies at the local hospital. My son can readily obtain alcohol at almost any convenience stop, with or without money or anything to give in return. His fellow twenty year olds would never think twice about offering him more alcohol when he is already loaded. It is so sad. They would cheerfully just hand him another bottle of his favorite 'juice'.
I'm not sure what happened in the mixture of growing up and processing past hurts as a kid, but I do know, this sweet-natured, loving, God-fearing boy has chosen a path that will lead him to a life of anything other than joy and peace, if his liver doesn't give out first.
Outlawing alcohol will never solve the problem, neither will making it legal prematurely. Young adults make decisions based on alot of factors in their lives. I do believe praying parents have a better chance of seeing their kids come out on the other side smelling like a rose and not a bottle of gin. But responsible drinking will always be something needed desperately but neglected sorely. One thing rings true for drinking alcohol. At the young age of eighteen and quite often through mid twenties, few drink responsibly. Think about the reasons behind drinking an alcoholic beverage. From the first drink until the last, drinking for taste alone is seldom the reason someone chooses an alcoholic beverage over a non-alcoholic beverage. For many, drinking responsibly is avoiding alcohol altogether. Into the mid twenties, seldom is anyone mature enough to drink responsibly if they are inclined to drink. Pain, loneliness, rejection, a low self-esteem and a mire of other emotional discomforts can draw anyone to the lowliness of drinking too much. Escaping life's ups and downs by becoming controlled by the substance of alcohol can be overwhelming quickly to the one indulging at any age really. So how much more of a temptation, a pain killer or a fix is alcohol to the young person without adequate experience in constructively handling life's pitfalls? Not all who choose to embark on the choice of alcohol will do so irresponsibly. But for those who do, a journey of pain far worse than they were experiencing previous to their choice to consume alcohol awaits them, and all who love them dearly.
Whether in a sorority or alone, the less drinking one does the less chance of it getting out of hand in their life. Ask an alcoholic if their dream was ever to be one, and they will resoundingly tell you, "No way."
Abundant Blessings,
Denise Spooner
WWJD <><
And this is exactly the kind of posts that convince that maybe I was right to say that the alcohol age-limit is right on.
I am so sorry to hear about your son, and I will pray that he sees the light. May his eyes realize that alcohol cannot fill the void that is designed for God alone. I pray that he wouldn't die, but that he would have a rude awakening to the jealous love of God that he been chasing him since the day he was born...
Keep strong. I know it's hard as a mom to watch your son tear apart his life. My mom watched me fall apart in a lot of different immoral behaviors, and I'm sorry for each lie, each act, each day of debauchery, that put up walls in our relationship. I totally imagine it's hard not to smack your kid when he's purposely making wrong choices, but pray that He would run to Jesus - He's all he needs...
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician
Thank you so much for your prayers and testimony. It gives me hope to hear you went a stray for a while as well and ran back to Jesus. This is EXACTLY what moms like me need to hear so terribly. It is our hopes for our children to see the love of God for them and want to follow after Him, that can be strengthened when young kids like you share where you've come form, and where He has brought you. Keep being transparent musician. You truly are a blessing to more than you think. Be bold for Jesus, He's the only one that really matters in this world. All others may and will probably fail you in some way. Stand up for Jesus so you don't fall for anything or anyone else. :-)
I am sure your mom is very proud of you now and most of all so very thankful her son returned home. :-)
Abundant Blessings,
Denise Spooner
WWJD <><
I love that last line. "Stand up for Jesus..." So true.
Read and comment as you like....http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/starving-musician