No matter who you may speak to, anyone who has ever experienced the cascading emotions and effects of impaired driving will agree to one thing above all else. That is, that drunk driving, and the brutal toll it takes on people as victims, loved ones of victims, friends, first responders, and the wider community, is a tragedy.And all the more tragic, a preventable one.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving stopped in to St. Joseph's Catholic High School Monday and delivered another heart-wrenching presentation, one heavily-laden with the still raw emotion of the survivors and those left to pick up and deal with the shattered pieces of their lives.
And really, how could it be anything other than this, emotional, hard-hitting, and devoid of anything that might take the sting out of it? Because that's how it is, and sometimes, well, we just forget a little bit. And maybe let down our guard. Or let circumstances cloud our good judgement. And therein lay the danger, and therefore the need for presentations such as today.
So that we do remember the tragedy of it all. So that we do take greater care with the most precious thing we have, our life, and for that other precious thing, that being the great love that others have for us.
It was pointed out that the number one threat to the life of a teenager in North America is a car crash, and that 40% of such crashes involve drivers legally impaired by alcohol or other drugs, either alone or in combination. Interestingly, the use of the word "crash" was stressed, and used pointedly in place of the all-too-familiar term of "accident." Because there are no accidents when it comes to this issue. Choices, to be sure, but no accidents.
Cars rarely crash on their own. When they do, it mostly involves some aspect of human failure. A failure of care and control and a failure of judgement. And this failure is unforgiving, and comes with a horrible price.
Imagine if someone identified an affliction that killed young people more than any other, and that all we had to do as a society was not drink and drive. Imagine if the cure to this affliction was simply good judgement, on the part of individuals primarily, but also on the part of friends of individuals.
This tragedy has already struck this community, too many times, resulting in too many victims, and far too many broken hearts. Periodically we need to be reminded of our responsiblities to ourselves, to those that we love, and to the greater community that we are part of.
Our thanks to MADD for playing their role in that endeavour.
