We're Only Human

It really bothers me that some of us lost our compassion for humanity along the way.  I’m reminded of this with the death of Whitney Houston.  So many people are focusing on the fact that she was a drug addict and not paying any mind to the fact that she was also a human being.  I am probably a bit late in the ballgame to be blogging about Whitney as most people probably erased her death from their memory but I believe in the better late than never ideology. That actually isn't true at all. I believe in the "better never than late" idea but in this case I will cut myself a break. 

As for Whitney... I found myself infuriated about the lack of sympathy or compassion in regards to a human being dying.  I saw unsympathetic posts along the lines of “she was a junkie” or “it was her choice” etc.  The same sorts of things were said about Amy Whinehouse. I can admit that I didn't like Amy when she debuted in America with “Rehab.”  I felt it was a tasteless joke of a song.  But when she died, I was so sad for her and her family.  She died at the age of 27, which is how old I turned the month before. I thought how sad it was that she had so much life ahead of her. I hoped that she didn’t die of an overdose but I didn’t think or say that she deserved to die or was unsympathetic towards the loss of a human being. I don’t know if it is today’s society that thinks it is okay to respond this way to a death of a human being or if it has always been this way.  Is this how people reacted when Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix died?  I doubt it. I don’t even think the public was this heartless when Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose.   Paul McCartney announced today that he chose to quit smoking pot (after 50 years of doing it) and he’s done other drugs in back in the day.  When the time comes (1,000 years from now) that McCartney passes away, are we going to say the same things?   Probably not.  So Whitney went through a bad time.  She tried to get herself help. Don’t get me wrong.  I made fun of her the last two times that I saw her on television.  She was going on about how Israel was her land.  Brennan and I had a field day with that! But we were both upset when we found out of her passing. Her death, by the way, is said to be caused by accidental drowning.  

The thing is that no one likes being a drug addict. Not one child answers with “I want to be addicted to cocaine,” when asked what they want to be when they grow up.  The sad truth is that one bad choice can lead to a lifetime of hardships and struggles that no one would ever want.  It can happen to any of one us.  We can all assume that we are smarter than to ever pick up the stuff but it only takes one try to start an addiction.   With that being said, we all have made stupid (and most often always regretted) choices.  It probably wasn’t deciding whether or not to try a drug but something probably as equally dangerous and idiotic.   The only example that comes to mind is driving in a snowstorm.  Besides those of you who do not drive or do not live in snowy areas, all of you readers have more than likely driven in the middle of a snowstorm at one point in your life.  (I am guilty of this.)  We have all thought that the thing that we needed to do was important enough to risk our lives to venture out in the snow and probably never make it to where we were supposed to be going because we’ve gotten ourselves in to a fine mess.  Maybe my example isn’t a good one but I’m just saying you can still end up dead.  Sounds silly but the bottom line is that is all started from a choice. 

However after that first choice is made the user wants it again and again.  This “just going to try it once and see what it feels like” choice turns into an unwanted and possibly unrealized addiction.  At this point, I no longer blame the addict.  I feel rather sorry for them. I don’t enjoy feeling sorry for them but it’s hard not to once you realize that addiction is a disease.  No one enjoys having a disease or wants to have one. 

I know for some, it might be difficult to accept that addiction is a disease.  For a long time I did not accept it.  I am embarrassed to say that I have no patience for drug users/addicts.  That is a fault of mine.  But that does not mean that I do not sympathize with their situations or think that they are any less human than I am.  In fact I hope that every addict kicks their habit and no longer has demons chasing them every single day.  Unfortunately, I have met many people in my life who are addicts. Some of them are addicted to “acceptable” drugs such as alcohol while others are addicted to harder drugs like heroin.  I’ve seen these people struggle with their addictions.  Trust me, addicts do not like being dependent on the drug anymore than I enjoy being dependent on a wheelchair. Addiction is ugly, unpleasant, and uncomfortable and let’s not forget expensive (and not just moneywise).  

I just think it would be nice if we can all just take a moment to think about the fact that Whitney, Amy, Janis, Jimi and Heath were all human beings before they were famous and before they were drug addicts.  We should be feeling sad that the poor woman, who had tons of life ahead of her, drowned in a bathtub the night before she was supposed to be performing at the Grammy’s. She was a mother, daughter, sister, and a friend who will be missed long after the public has forgotten about her. Let's focus on that instead of all of the mistakes she's made. 

As usual, you can leave comment if you’d like but I will not argue with you. J  

I've also included some facts and stats about drug abuse...

• In United States of America, the root cause for 25% of the total deaths can be attributed to drug abuse.
• 65% of drug addicts get access to the drink via their close family and friends.
• The most commonly used drug among American youth is alcohol.
• Chronic alcohol consumption kills youth 6.5 times beyond normalcy.
• Alcoholism is the most prominent cause of birth abnormalities.
• Drug withdrawal is not just as easy as anyone thinks. The process can bring in hallucinations, paranoia and seizures. Drug withdrawal in rare cases can even prove to be fatal.
• Medication cost of a drug addict is almost 2 times the medication cost for a clean individual.
• Drug addicts tend to take up 527,000 emergency rooms for treatment in one year.
• Almost a death toll of 10,000 can be attributed to chronic alcohol abuse within a timeframe of one year,
• Drug abuse is the most common problem among food service and construction workers.
• 75% of domestic violence is caused by drug addicts.
• Children who come from a family which practically experiences the drug addiction problem is more likely to suffer from asthma, ear infections and are very vulnerable to poor performance in schools due to the tarnished home environment.
• 50% of Americans have a beloved one who is suffering from drug abuse problem at any given time
• The age group that is worst affected by drug addiction is 18-29
• 1in 4 teens have a frequent discussion with their parents on drug addiction, its ill effects and aftermath. The teens that do that have proven to be less prone to get into this habit than the ones who don’t.
• 28% of school teens are aware of at least one of their friends who is a chronic drug abuser. 17% of them know more than one.
• The drug consumption generally begins at adolescent years. Statistics reveal that the average age is 12.5 years
• Alcohol usage is most prominent among Hispanics. Whites and African Americans follow suit
• Hispanics are the ethnic group that is very popular in the arena of illicit drug consumption
• Heroin and cocaine contribute to 70% of illicit drug addiction problems across America
• Among school children who come out of the eighth grade, 52% have tasted alcohol, 41% have smoked cigarettes at least once and 20% have given weed consumption a try

from drugabusehelp/statistics/

Here is another link to a great website which had too much for me to copy and paste http://archives.drugabuse.gov/about/welcome/aboutdrugabuse/