When will we get it?
Okay, I am getting up on my soap box...
Few things in our culture bother me more than our obsession with celebrity. People and US Weekly are more read that REAL magazines. People use Twitter to follow their favorite celebrities so they feel a part of their life (not me of course...). We care more about Tom Cruise's kid than we do our own it seems. Well maybe some good will finally come out of this...
The other day a pitcher for the Anaheim Angels baseball team was killed by a drunk driver. Granted, there were two others killed in the crash, but you know we will publicize Nick Adenhart more than the 13,000 other drunk driving related deaths. My initial reaction to the crash scares me. In Wisconsin we don't really even get fazed about this stuff anymore. Driving drunk is the norm (sadly). Earlier this year, or at the end of last I forget, the Journal Sentinel here in Milwaukee ran a staggering series about our drunk driving problem and how little the state has done to fight it. Sadly, drunk drivers seem to either vote or pay for the people that run for office. Not sure.
Either way, my question is when will we get it? Who needs to die? Unfortunate as it may be, Nick Adenhart probably isn't a big enough name to make a difference. What if it were Brett Favre? Then would people care? Would people then think twice before getting blitzed and then driving? I can online IMAGINE the average BAC after the Brewers game yesterday. Like most things, we don't care until it impacts us. I remember growing up when there were two high schoolers in my hometown that were killed by a drunk driver. One of the girls mothers became an advocate (is that the right word?) for MADD and would come in and give talks. MADD loves to use staggering statistics, but does it make a difference? I stand by my stance that most people don't tend to care about an issue until it impacts their lives. My family wasn't aware of the dangers of a stroke until December 27th, but we are all now well versed.
I wish I could say it matters and that people will learn, but you know me, I am way too cynical (or realistic) to believe that.
Few things in our culture bother me more than our obsession with celebrity. People and US Weekly are more read that REAL magazines. People use Twitter to follow their favorite celebrities so they feel a part of their life (not me of course...). We care more about Tom Cruise's kid than we do our own it seems. Well maybe some good will finally come out of this...
The other day a pitcher for the Anaheim Angels baseball team was killed by a drunk driver. Granted, there were two others killed in the crash, but you know we will publicize Nick Adenhart more than the 13,000 other drunk driving related deaths. My initial reaction to the crash scares me. In Wisconsin we don't really even get fazed about this stuff anymore. Driving drunk is the norm (sadly). Earlier this year, or at the end of last I forget, the Journal Sentinel here in Milwaukee ran a staggering series about our drunk driving problem and how little the state has done to fight it. Sadly, drunk drivers seem to either vote or pay for the people that run for office. Not sure.
Either way, my question is when will we get it? Who needs to die? Unfortunate as it may be, Nick Adenhart probably isn't a big enough name to make a difference. What if it were Brett Favre? Then would people care? Would people then think twice before getting blitzed and then driving? I can online IMAGINE the average BAC after the Brewers game yesterday. Like most things, we don't care until it impacts us. I remember growing up when there were two high schoolers in my hometown that were killed by a drunk driver. One of the girls mothers became an advocate (is that the right word?) for MADD and would come in and give talks. MADD loves to use staggering statistics, but does it make a difference? I stand by my stance that most people don't tend to care about an issue until it impacts their lives. My family wasn't aware of the dangers of a stroke until December 27th, but we are all now well versed.
I wish I could say it matters and that people will learn, but you know me, I am way too cynical (or realistic) to believe that.
Labels: drunk driving
posted by Phillip @ Saturday, April 11, 2009
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