Michael Phelps et cetera...
Pending information, Michael Phelps could be charged for photos of him smoking a bong... there are so many things wrong with this and with the fact that this is news at all, I know I can't touch on all of them. Warning: transition-free ramble ahead...
As Ashton Kutcher similarly put it, ask your college student what he/she was doing last weekend. Hell, what were you doing last weekend? Or what did you formerly do on your weekends? I'm not saying everyone does it, but I guarantee someone in your life has, and I guarantee that person is doing ok despite his/her lapse in judgement. More importantly, are we trying to make an example here? I hear so often how naive young people are. Well, if you're an "adult" and you think this will teach those pot-smoking youngsters something, I'm sorry to be the first to inform you, but you're being naive. I bet about every single one of those youngsters thinks it's pretty awesome that Phelps knows how to hit a bong, and they wish they could smoke with him. In fact, the first group I saw on facebook regarding this story was called "I Wanna Smoke with Michael Phelps!" Pot is as common as beer, especially on college campuses. Further, I know for a fact I had friends as early as junior high who got caught by the cops with pot. Do you know what happened? The cops took it and gave the person a warning. Whether the cops actually smoked it later or not doesn't matter, that's what that person who got the warning was left to assume.
Most important, to me anyway... Do you know how many other things kids are doing these days? Do you really have any idea? Sure make an example out of Phelps. Some kids will laugh about it and think it's cool that he smokes. Otherwise, they are popping pills which they don't even know the effects of. - because all we taught them is not to do it. They are drinking to the point of stupid because they think that's the way to do it every time - they've been taught do it or don't, not the smart way. They're not having "regular" intercourse with condoms, they're having unprotected anal sex because all they've taken out of those "lessons" is that they can't get pregnant that way. Not all of them, I know, and not all of them doing every one of these to the extreme, but my god it's happening; does this not mean anything to anybody?! We haven't taught anyone a damn thing. We give punishment that does not educate, we give "education" that suggests not doing things is the only option. Almost everything has been entirely ineffective and future generations are left uneducated, lost, damaged, isolated, and judged.
I'm not saying I have the answers. And I'm not saying we can save the world nor that we can save every single adolescent dealing with all of these choices. What I am saying, though, is that this whole Michael Phelps thing is just another example of the fact that overall we just don't get it...overall we're ineffective. Something's gotta change...I've got more and I hope to return to the subject, for now I'm spent...