Straight Talk from Straight Kids

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, November 4, 1998

Monique Michel / L’Observateur / November 4, 1998

I’ve never really understood the appeal of alcohol. The people who I knowwho have drank have never said it was fun or exciting. In fact, they regretit.

Beer commercials seem to glamorize drinking, insinuating that all cool people drink to have fun. It’s alarming that a lot of these commercialsseem to be aimed at young people. While some of these ads are funny,these companies aren’t showing us the downside to alcohol. The truth isthat as soon as you drink you jeopardize your life and the lives of others, as well.

Drinking impairs judgment and coordination. When you drink you have theprobability of doing things you wouldn’t normally do if you were sober. Iknow a girl who, after a night of drinking, learned she was pregnant but didn’t remember who fathered the child. This shows such a lack of respectfor herself, and it brought an innocent child into the world who will never know her father because of her mother’s lack of responsibility.

Drunk driving shatters thousands of lives a year. People who don’t deserveto die do so because of a stranger’s stupidity. Not only are people killed,but families are destroyed, as well.

The Bible warns in Proverbs 20:1 that “Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging.” It also says, “Anyone who is deceived by alcohol is not wise.”Any fool can be pressured into drinking, but it takes someone who is stronger to be able to hold tight to his or her convictions when the pressure is on.

People have asked me why I’ve never drank. My answer is pretty simple:I’m smarter than that. I don’t need alcohol to have a good time. My friendsaren’t so boring that we need to drink. Besides, I’ve always thoughtremembering what I did the night before was pretty fun.

If you have any questions or comments, contact me at P.O. Box 1493,LaPlace, LA 70069, or straightkids@juno.com

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