[ OUR OPINION ]
Thanksgiving is
a blessing to redoubleTHIS national holiday we call Thanksgiving is a day with no intent or purpose other than to revel in what we hold valuable -- family, friends and freedom.
There are many in this country and millions around the world who do not share in the abundance or liberty. They are alone, powerless, confined by need or oppression either through circumstances or, worse, through indifference.
The more fortunate among us should celebrate and rejoice. Yet sometime between cheering football games and marveling at parade floats, between the turkey and poke and the sweet potatoes and fried rice, thought should be given to how to extend the riches and wealth of our society.
On Thanksgiving, we feast because food is a symbol of the bounty of life. Fittingly, this holiday is followed by Christmas, when the sense of charity and benevolence comes forward. So it goes that those bestowed with plenty should hold fast to or, if lost, revive the truth that goodness and grace delivered to those without them will reap generosity multiplied.
BACK TO TOP
|
BY the time they reach their teen years, children are able to distinguish half-truths and exaggerations and are well aware that drug use transfuses American culture. So using scare tactics and promoting misinformation undermines the credibility of drug education efforts. The approach advanced by the Drug Policy Alliance to give young people clear information about the risks makes more sense. Teens need better
advice about drug use
than ‘Just Say No’
THE ISSUE A policy group urges parents and educators to give young people information instead of trying to scare them straight.
Despite the millions of dollars and countless hours spent by schools and the federal government to push "Just Say No" and similar programs, various studies and surveys show that as many as 50 percent of teenagers experiment with drugs and about 80 percent with alcohol. Although abstaining from such behavior would be ideal, teenagers are inclined to take chances. If they do, they should be aware of the levels of dangers involved with different substances, the likelihood of addiction and the legal problems that may follow them far into the future.
In presentations to education officials in Hawaii, Marsha Rosenbaum, director of the San Francisco office of the alliance, said that alarming teenagers with stories about addiction and stretching the facts about drug use can be harmful when young people find out the truth. Rosenbaum described a young woman who had been told in drug education classes that if she tried marijuana, she would become addicted. When that didn't happen, she concluded that she had been lied to, figured that the other information in the classes also was false and went on to try heroin. She eventually became addicted.
Of course, most young people won't head down that path, but Rosenbaum reasons that overstatements and fear aren't the most effective methods to discourage drug and alcohol use and abuse. Rather, parents and educators should provide factual information and answer questions teenagers may have in an atmosphere where they may speak freely. Informed adults should explain the biological and psychological effects drugs -- both legal and illegal -- and alcohol may have in the short term and through the rest of their lives. Teenagers are better able to make rational choices when rational guidance is provided.
BACK TO TOP
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by
John Flanagan, Contributing Editor 294-3533; jflanagan@starbulletin.com
Oahu Publications at 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.
Periodicals postage paid at Honolulu, Hawaii. Postmaster: Send address changes to
Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802.
